Green Bean Soup

Pita Pizza

Instead of normal pizza base, I used a wholemeal pita bread as the base :) Spread with BBQ sauce and top with mozzarella cheese, spread a layer of sauteed onion, teriyaki chicken & basil leaves. Baked in oven at 200 deg cel for 12 mins.

Egg Rolls

Bake Crumbed Fish

Taste great along with fruits salsa!...Sprinkle salt & black pepper on both sides of white fish fillet, coat with some low fat mayonnaise follow by breadcrumbs. Drizzle some olive oil over the coated fillet, bake preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 20mins until golden brown. Serve immediately with fruits salsa (mangoes, pineapples, cherry tomatoes, japanese cucumber, lemon juice & zests, Tabasco sauce)

Yoghurt IceCream

Mangoe is one of my favourite fruit! I love the mango taste of this ice-cream but I do not like the texture...is too icy, not smooth & creamy :(

Recipe adapted from Aunt Yochana

Mango Yoghurt Ice Cream
Ingredient

• 300gm mangoes, puree
• 200gm non-dairy whipping cream
• 1 tsp mango essence
• 120gm mango flavoured yoghurt
  

Method

1. Whisk non diary whip cream until thick. (do not whisk till stiff)
2. Mix yoghurt and essence with mango puree and then fold in whipped cream.
3. Pour into a container and freeze overnight until firm.

毛瓜炒蛋

Saute 3 gloves garlic & dried shrimps till fragrant. Add in one gourd (peeled & sliced). Fry till soft and add 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce follow by 4 beaten eggs seasoned with salt & sesame oil. Fry till golden brown. Serve!

Yam Rice

Romaine Lettuce

Besides using Romaine Lettuce for salad, is great for simple stir-fry also!! do not overcook so as to retain is crispness :) just add garlic, light soya sauce & chinese wine and stir fry on high heat.

Lemon Barley

Weather is so hot!! boil some barley water to cool down :) added honey & lemon juice to taste...refreshing!!!

Threadfin with Wood Ears

Ingredient

• 250gm threadfin, sliced
• 3/4 cup softened wood ears
• 3 slices ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp chinese wine
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 stalk spring onion
• 1 tbsp cornstarch water
  

Method

1. Marinate fish with seasoning.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok. Add ginger & garlic, fry till fragrant.
3. Add fish, stir-fry on high heat for 2 mins. Add wood ear & 2 tbsp water. Stir to mix.
   
4. Add cornstarch water & spring onion. Mix evenly. Serve.
   

Roast Meat Salad

Main Ingredient : Mixed salads, yellow capsicum, shallots, roast pork, char siew...

Salad Dressing : 3 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp ginger oil, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 tbsp minced ginger, 1/4 tsp black peppercorn, pinch of salt...

Sweet Corn Chiffon

Usually I baked my chiffon for 35mins, but this time round the baking duration does not apply for this chiffon! Almost have a hard time trying to remove the cake from the centre tube. , now then realise the surface is not as brown enough, should have extend the baking time for another 5mins.

Sit nicely at the brim after cooling down!

Soft & fluffy...

balanced batter baked in papercups!

Ingredient
* 6 egg yolks
* 250gm creamy sweet corn
* 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
* 60ml corn oil
* 100gm castor sugar
* 120gm plain flour, sifted
* 50gm coconut powder
* 6 egg whites
* 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method

1. Whisk egg yolks with 30gm sugar till smooth. Stir in sweet corn, vanilla essence & corn oil. Fold in flour & coconut powder till batter forms.
2. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar till foamy. Gradually beat in 70gm sugar on high speed in 3 additions till stiff peak formed.
3. Fold in 1/3 of the egg white foam into sweet corn batter. Mix evenly. Pour the batter into the balance egg white foam and fold in gently till combined.
4. Pour into ungreased 9 inch tube pan. Tap the pan on hard surface to release excess trap air bubbles and bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 35 -40 mins. Invert immediately to cool completely before removing from pan.

Croquettes

I love this croquettes which got a crispy crust & moist filling :) To make it less messier when moulding the patties, I wear a plastic gloves to handle the mixture! It is important to shape the croquettes firmly and chill them well after coating with breadcrumbs. This is to ensure it does not burst during the frying process.

Cod & Potatoes Croquettes
Ingredient
* 300gm cod fillet
* 400gm potatoes
* 1 large onion
* 4 tbsp mayonnaise
* 1 egg, beaten
* 100gm breadcrumbs
* plain flour
* salt & pepper

Method

1. Place cod fillet on a plate, sprinkle 1/3 of the sliced onion, salt & pepper on top. Steam for 10mins. Cool. Remove onion, skins and bones from fish. Put fish in a plastic bag and pound till finely flaked.
2. Peel & boil potatoes. Mash coarsely while is still hot. Add balanced chopped onion, mayonnaise, salt & pepper. Mix well and leave to cool.
3. Mix cod with mashed potatoes. Shape the mixture into 8 round flat cakes. Press & mould the cakes firmly to press out any air. Dust evenly with flour, dip in beaten eggs and coat evenly with breadcrumbs. Chill for at least 30mins.
   
4. Pan fry slowly in oil till crispy and golden. Drain well.
   

Egg "In" Toast

This morning experiment by cooking an egg in the middle of a piece of bread :P. First slice failed cos the cut area is too small to fill the whole egg & heat control is not correct...subsequently slices got it perfectly done after rectify the mistakes :). Make sure to use room temperature eggs to ensure the eggs is easily cooked through without an overburnt base.

Ingredient

• wholemeal bread
• 1 egg yolk & 1/2 egg white for each bread (is fine to use whole egg if cut area is enough to fill in)
  
• butter

Method

1. Melt some butter in pan. Sear both side of bread with butter. Add in egg & cook on low heat. Cover pan till yolk is set.
   

Round Cookie Cutter

Heart Cookie Cutter

Instant Pasta

Without cooking the sauce from scratch, I make full use of a packet of instant mushroom pasta sauce which is fast & simple to cook & delicious too :) Prior adding the sauce, I saute some garlic and stir-fry a packet of mixed mushrooms and some green peas. Follow then simmer the cooked spaghetti for a couple of minutes, a piping hot pasta is ready to be served!

Stewed Seabass with Carrots

All in one dish rich in protein & fibre. Pan-fried fish gives a milky soup base to this dish. Though only a little salt is added, the soup is sweet because of the carrots added. I used the soup base to cook mee sua for my boy's dinner.

Ingredient

• 1 seabass
• 200gm radish, shred finely
• 1 carrot, shred finely
• 3 slice ginger
• 2 cups water
• dash of pepper
  

Method

1. Sprinkle a little salt over the fish, coat lightly with some corn flour.
2. Heat 3 tbsp spoon oil in wok, pan fry fish on both sides till lightly brown.
3. Add ginger, carrots & water. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 45mins till carrots are tender.
   

馄饨 Wuntun

Besides having the usual boring porridge, I prepare some 馄饨 soup which my son can have it too. Save me the hassle of preparing food separately :) As I do not want him to consume too salty food, I have added minimal seasoning to the fillings. He manage to finish a bowl of 10 wuntuns ^-^

Ingredient (makes approx. 50 pcs)

• 250gm minced pork
• 5 waterchestnut, peel & chop
• 1/4 cup wood ear
  
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 pkt Wuntun skin
  

Method

1. Mix all ingredient thoroughly till sticker paste form. Set aside for at least 30mins.
2. Place 1/2 tsp of fillings onto middle of a wuntun skin. Spread some water at the sides of the skin, seal the wuntun tightly.
   
3. Cook wuntun in a pot of boiling water with salt added. This will prevent the the wuntun from bursting during the cooking process.
4. Drain and serve in prepared stock.
5. Balance of uncooked wuntun can be freezed. To freeze, place wuntun in a single layer on a pan, freeze till hard before keeping them in a plastic bag. Seal & store in freezer till use.

Today's Lunch...

苋菜银鱼羹 Amaranth Leaves & Silver Fish Soup

Ingredient

• 400gm Amaranth Leaves
• 140gm fresh silver fish
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 3 cups water
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cornstarch water
  
• 1 tsp sesame oil
  

Method

1. Trim off roots and wash the leaves thoroughly. Tear into bite sizes.
2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in wok, saute garlic till lightly brown, add leaves. Stir-fry on high heat for 2 mins.
3. Add silver fish and water. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer till leaves are tender.
4. Add cornstarch water to thicken the soup. Add salt to taste. Drizzle over sesame oil. Serve hot.
   

Tuna Fried Rice

Guess fried rice is one of the most versatile dish to prepare as you can add anything to like! But the most essential ingredients for fried rice are eggs & garlic which cannot be omitted :)

Crêpes

A thin pancake origin from French. Not as difficult as it seems to make :) just ensure that the fire is low and of course a non-stick pan is required. Besides having it for breakfast, think is great idea to make savoury Crêpe wraps for lunch too! My boy manage to finish 1 1/2 pieces for breakfast! :) I personally prefer this than the normal American Pancakes.

Using a 10" non-stick pan, 2 scoop of batter for each pancakes, I manage to get 6 pieces of Crêpes using the recipe below.

French Crêpes
Ingredient
* 125gm plain flour
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 250ml milk
* 1 tbsp sugar
* unsalted butter

Method

1. Put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle. Pour the eggs into the hollow. Use a wire whisk, gradually stir the eggs in the flour. Stir well to ensure minimal lumps. (stir until is soft dough almost form)
2. Add in milk slowly, stirring constantly, add in sugar. Stir well till a smooth batter is formed. Set aside for 1 hour.
   
3. Heat a non-stick pan, melt some unsalted butter to coat the pan. Add appropriate amount of batter in the pan, swirl to cover the pan. Cook on medium low heat. When the sides start to brown slightly, use a wooden spoon to loosen the sides. Gently flip over to cook the other side for 1-2 mins.
4. Continue with the balance batter, add butter as necessary to coat the pan.
5. Serve warm with honey, mixed berries....
   

Black & White

After couple of ice-cream making using simple method like folding whipped cream into fruits puree, I have taken a further step by trying custard cooking method :) It involves only 3 main steps. Firstly beat the eggs & sugar till thick, secondly double-boiled the egg mixture with milk & flavours, lastly fold in whipped cream! Pop the mixture into freezer till set, no need to beat the mixture again during the freezing process. Sounds simple enough right :P

Only special care is needed during the custard cooking process. Cook the mixture over a simmering pot of water and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Though double boiling takes much longer time, it is much safer than cooking on direct heat as this reduce the risk of over cooking the custard which may result in cooked eggs instead. When the mixture thickens and coats the back of the wooden spoon, it is done!

Though I am using non-dairy cream, just to share my past experience on whipping cream :) I realise that dairy cream is more tricky to handle than non-dairy cream. I always take special care not to over whip the cream. If whip too long, the cream can curdle and separate and will turn into butter!. This is because prolonged beating has warmed the cream. To prevent this from happening, chill the mixing bowl & whisk in the fridge till very cold. If the weather is very hot I will also place the mixing bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice cubes before whipping up the cream.

Very satisfied with my ice-cream making, smooth & creamy texture. Taste simply divine!! I especially love the nutty flavour of the black sesame ice-cream! ^-^

Coconut Gelato extracted from Aunt Yochana

Black Sesame Ice-Cream
Ingredient

• 3 egg yolks
• 80gm sugar
• 75gm black sesame, toast & grind
• 250ml full cream milk
• 250gm non dairy whipping cream
  

Method

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar till white and creamy.
2. Double boil the egg yolk mixture over a pot of simmering water and stir constantly. Pour in milk and sesame paste, continue stirring until mixture is thick. (takes abt 15mins)
3. Remove sesame custard mixture from heat and set aside to cool. (place in a bowl of ice cubes to speed up the process)
4. Whisk non dairy whipping cream till soft peak and fold into the cooled custard.
5. Pour into container and freeze overnight or until firm.

当归炖鸡

Quite similar to this Herbal Chicken recipe, just that I use a whole kampong chicken this round, takes longer time to cook.

Ingredient

• 1 kampong chicken
• 3 slices dang gui
• 1 tbsp wolfberries
• 5 slices ginger
  
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 250ml water

Method

1. Blanch chicken in boiling water for 5mins. Drain well.
2. Place chicken in a deep casserole, rub sea salt all over chicken.
3. Place dang gui, wolfberries & ginger inside the chicken cavity. Fill in water & rice wine into the casserole. Cover tightly with a foil.
   
4. Steam for 3 hrs till tender.

Savoury Yam Cake

I found this recipe on My Kitchen. Taste good! I double the recipe as I wanted to use up the balance of my flour and I also make some modifications on some ingredient :P...

Pan-fried for a crispy outer layer...

Ingredient

• 340g fine rice flour
• 80g tapioca flour
• 1000ml water
• 1 cube ikan bilis stock
• 1 tsp sesame oil
  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
• 900g yam, peeled and diced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 50g dried shrimp, soaked & chopped coarsely (reserve liquid)
• 12 small chinese mushroom, soaked & diced finely (reserve liquid)
• 10 shallots, sliced thinly
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 no. red chili, seeded and sliced
• 1 stalk spring onion , chopped

Method

1. Dissolve stock cube in 1000ml water. Add reserved dried prawns & mushroom liquid. Add sesame oil, salt, pepper & five-spice powder. Cool completely.
   
2. Add flour to stock and stir till batter form.
3. Heat oil in wok, add yam and stir fry until lightly browned. Remove yam from wok and set aside.
4. Stir in shallot to the the same wok, fry until golden brown. Remove from shallot from wok and set aside.
5. Add some more oil in the wok. Add garlic, dried shrimp and mushroom, fry until fragrant. Add yams & fried shallot. Pour the batter in the wok, stir until the batter is thickened.
6. Transfer batter into a lightly greased 8" deep pan, steam for 40-50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before slicing.
7. Slice and garnish with red chili, fried shallot and spring onion.

2 in 1 Meals

Been having pasta meal over the weekends...bolognese sauce needs time to simmer, so I cooked and store overnight in the fridge. The next day I just prepare the Béchamel Sauce and bake the lasagne. but I made a blunder :( at the last layer, miss out the meat sauce layer and only spread the white sauce over the lasagne sheet, resulting a crispy top as can be seen on the picture above...

Lasagne
Ingredient

• 30gm butter
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 500gm minced beef
• 2 x 411 canned tomatoes, crushed
• 5 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• salt & pepper to taste
• 250gm instant lasagne sheets
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• bechamel sauce (refer below)
  

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a deep saucepan. Saute garlic till fragrant, add onion, carrot & celery. Stir fry over medium heat till soft.
2. Turn on heat, add minced beef. Use a wooden spoon to break up the lumps. Cook for 5 mins till brown. Add canned tomatoes, tomatoe paste & herbs. Bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer for 45mins. Add salt & pepper to taste.
3. Trim lasagne to fit baking dish. Spread a layer of meat sauce over the base follow by a thin layer of bechamel. Lay a lasagne sheet on top , gently press down. Continue with the layers : meat sauce, white sauce & lasagne. Make sure the lasagne are well covered with meat sauce to ensure it is soft after baking. Complete last layer with white sauce and sprinkle over parmesan cheese.
   
4. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 45mins till golden brown. Set aside for 15 mins before cutting.
   

Béchamel Sauce (white sauce) is a key ingredient in making lasagne. It cannot be omitted :) A short video I found on youtube on making this sauce...

Ingredient

• 50gm butter
• 40gm plain flour
• 500ml milk
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter over low heat until foaming. Add flour and stir constantly for 2 mins.
   
2. Remove pan from heat, gradually stir in milk. Return to heat and bring to boil stirring constantly, until thickens. Season with nutmeg, salt & pepper. Simmer for another 2 mins. Use immediately.

With some balance of the meat sauce after making the lasagne, I prepare a simple spaghetti bolognese for the next day meal!

Potato Gnocchi

Potato Gnocchi is a Italian potato dumpling dish. This is the first time I try making fresh gnocchi so not sure what the outcome will be. I made a mistake by pouring in the beaten eggs all at once! Think I've added too much eggs resulting the dough to be slightly sticking to hand.

I have to constantly wet my hands to prevent the dough from sticking to my palm when rolling out the dough. I also have to wet the fork when pressing out the patterns. But luckily it does not affect the taste or texture after cooking :) it has a firm and slightly springy texture.

Potato Gnocchi
Ingredient

• 500gm potatoes
• 15gm salted butter
• 125gm plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Peel potatoes and chop roughly. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook for 15mins till soft. Drain well and mash till smooth.
   
2. Use a wooden spoon, stir in butter and flour then mix in egg (u may not used all). Mix till the dough is soft and smooth. (it should be non-sticky to hand)
   
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into long sausage shape and cut into cubes. Press each piece with a fork to create patterns.
4. Bring some water to boil. Add gnocchi and cook till the pieces rise to the surface. Drain and serve your favourite pasta sauce & parmesan cheese.
   

Tomato & Basil Sauce
Ingredient

• 1 onion
• 1 large carrots
• 3 celery stick
• 2 x 411gm canned tomatoes, crushed
• 50gm fresh basil, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Chopped onion, carrots & celery. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the vegetables & cook for 5mins, stirring regularly.
2. Add tomatoes and season with salt & pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25mins. Cool slightly. Place mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Stir in basil leaves.
   
3. Scoop adequate sauce in a saucepan, add some gnocchi into the sauce and simmer for 5 mins. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese.