When Cinderella's pumpkin carriage meets... A rice cooker :)

Ingredients

2 wedges of pumpkin, cubed

1 carrot, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

8 chinese mushrooms, soaked and sliced

30g of dried shrimp, rinsed and soaked, reserve water

200g lean pork, sliced

(Marinate with 1 tbsp of sesame oil, 1 tsp of white pepper, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of light soya sauce and a dash of Shaoxing wine)

6 large prawns, deveined and deshelled, reserve heads

1 sprig of parsley, chopped

1 chicken cube, dissolved in 100ml of water

2.5 cups rice, rinsed (I measured the amount of water needed for 2.5 cups of cooking and soaked the rice in it while prepping the rest of the ingredients) 

Chye sim, washed and chopped.

1 packet of Hokto Maitake mushrooms (or black fungus) for added crunch. *Optional.

Method

In the rice cooker, turn the setting to cook and add 2 tbsp of oil. 

Stir fry garlic and dried shrimp till fragrant. 

Add in the shrimp heads, using the frying slice to press down on the heads and discard.

Throw in the mushrooms, the marinated lean pork and fry till almost cooked.

Add in the pumpkin and carrot to fry.

Pour in the rice, water and dissolved chicken stock cube, add in the chopped chye sim and mix till well combined.

Place the prawns on top and close the rice cooker. 

Wait for it to work its magic :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Rice cooker dinners : Stewed pork, mushroom & cabbage rice

Ingredients

3 cups of rice, washed 

500g of cabbage, washed and chopped

10 small black mushrooms + 200ml of water, soaked and sliced, reserve water

20g dried shrimp, soaked and drained

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of stewed pork chops, bones removed and roughly shredded

1 tsp of dark soy sauce

1 tsp of light soy sauce

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

0.5 tsp of sesame oil + 0.5 tsp of cooking oil

A dash of white pepper

1 tbsp of chicken stock concentrate mixed with 250ml of water

Method

Set the rice cooker to cook function and fry garlic, dried shrimp in sesame + cooking oil till fragrant. Add in the roughly shredded stewed pork. 

Pour in the washed rice and mushroom slices with the reserve water.

Add in chicken stock mixture and the reserve gravy from the canned stewed pork.

Mix in the dark, light soy + oyster sauce and a dash of white pepper.

Add in the chopped cabbage and stir to mix well. Add more soy sauce here if needed.

Leave to cook.

Fluff up the rice and mix well to ensure that all the rice is cooked. 

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

咸菜番茄炒廋肉 | Salted mustard greens and tomatoes stir fried with lean pork

Ingredients

3 cloves of minced garlic

6 leaves of salted mustard green, sliced (washed but not soaked)

2 tomatoes, sliced (I sliced each half into 6 parts)

250g of lean pork loin, sliced

1/2 tsp of soy sauce

300ml of water

a dash of pepper

Method

Fry minced garlic till fragrant before adding lean pork slices. Fry till cooked before adding in a dash of pepper. Add in salted mustard green and tomatoes and stir fry it on high heat. Add 300ml of water and let it simmer over low heat.

Adjust the quantity of water if you find that it's too salty but that gravy is really addictive 

Just be careful not to add too much water till your gravy overwhelms the dish. 

My grandma used to soak the salted mustard greens before cooking but I tried it today without soaking and it was fine.

From our kitchen to yours, 

Brenda x

One pot wonders: Stewed pork & chicken rice | 红烧排骨鸡肉饭

Ingredients

1 large can of stewed pork chops, roughly shredded with bone removed (I used Gulong brand)

1 chicken breast, sliced and marinated with 1 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tsp of sesame oil, a dash of pepper and shaoxing wine)

1 carrot, sliced

1 packet of baby bok choy, stem removed and chopped into thirds

20g of dried shrimp (1 small handful)

1 tbsp of chilli scallop floss (Sun Kee brand)

Soy sauce mixture: 2 tbsp of dark soya sauce + 1 tbsp of soy sauce in 250ml of water

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp of oil

4 cups of rice

8 cups of water + 200ml of water 

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add minced garlic, dried shrimp and scallop floss. Stir fry till fragrant. Add chicken breast and fry till cooked before setting it aside.

In the rice cooker, rinse rice and add water. Add stewed pork chops and gravy. 

Place carrot slices into the rice. Add the cooked chicken breast, soy sauce mixture and stir thoroughly to ensure that rice is evenly coated with the sauce. Set the rice cooker to cook.

Midway in the cooking process, add baby bok choy and stir it into the half cooked rice. Add water if necessary. 

Serve topped with chopped spring onions and cut red chilli. 

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

*Lean pork slices can be used instead of chicken breast with the same marinade
*Chinese cabbage can be used instead of baby bok choy
*I would add chinese mushrooms :) except that I already had a miso barramundi soup with mushrooms.
*Only when my rice was partially cooked, I added the soy sauce mixture and stirred it into the rice to ensure that the sauce is evenly distributed throughout.

Not having a hotplate shouldn't stop you from cooking this! :)

Ingredients (Serves 8)

10 king prawns, deshelled and deveined

200g of minced pork, marinated with a dash of pepper and a dash of shaoxing wine, half a tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of sesame oil

3 tubes of egg tofu, sliced into 1 inch thickness

A knob of ginger, sliced to matchsticks

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Spring onions, chopped

1 tbsp of oyster sauce

3 tbsp of spicy bean paste (available from NTUC, Triple A brand from Taiwan)

1 tsp of light soya sauce

1 tbsp of cornflour, mixed with water for thickening the sauce

5 eggs, beaten with a dash of pepper, half a teaspoon of soy sauce

Method

Pat dry the egg tofu pieces to prevent oil splatters before shallow frying. (You could deep fry it, but I'd rather the healthier and less mess alternative). :) Fry till both sides are golden brown. Set them aside on kitchen towel to drain excess oil and water.

In a heated pan, add two tbsp of oil and fry ginger, garlic and the white ends of the spring onion till fragrant. Add minced pork, oyster sauce, spicy bean paste, soy sauce. Add prawns and fry till well mixed with the seasonings. Then add about 250ml of water (depending how much gravy you'd like) and the pre-fried egg tofu pieces. Thicken with cornstarch and set it aside.

Heat up the pan again with 2 tablespoons of oil. Coat the pan well before pouring in the beaten egg and fry till brown on one side and cooked through. 

Place the egg on the bottom and spoon the tofu mixture generously over the egg base. 

Sprinkle the chopped spring onions over the top and serve with rice :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x 

They say a person just needs three things to be truly happy in this world

Ingredients: (For 5 servings)

15 small black flower mushrooms, reserve mushroom water

150g spare ribs

100g pork ribs

2 small saito fishcakes

10 pork & mushroom balls

1 carrot peeled and sliced

5 leaves of lettuce chopped

200g of rice vermicelli presoaked

500g of prawns, deshelled and deveined, marinate with a dash of soy sauce, shaoxing wine, pepper, a dash of sesame oil. reserve head and shells.

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Oyster sauce 2 large tablespoons

0.5 teaspoon of salt to taste

1 cube of Knorr chicken stock (no MSG)

500ml of pork rib stock

2L of water

Parsley, chopped red chillies

Method:

Blanch spare ribs and pork ribs and set aside.

Once pan is heated, add sesame and vegetable oil. Fry minced garlic till fragrant and add prawn shells and head. Fry and lightly press the head while frying :) 

Add 2L of water, 500 ml of pork rib stock, flower mushrooms and reserve mushroom water. Once it comes to a boil, add sliced carrots. Let the soup continue boiling, add 1 chicken stock cube, oyster sauce and salt to taste.

Let the soup continue to simmer over low heat. Add in the pork ribs and spare ribs, fishcake and prawns.

Once ready for dinner, let soup come to a boil and add in the presoaked vermicelli to cook in the soup. Divide the vermicelli into 5 portions and the sliced lettuce before arranging ingredients and adding soup. Finish with a dash of white pepper to taste. 

Top with parsley and serve with cut red chilli padi :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Comfort food looks like a dish of pork, potatoes and baked beans :)

 

1 large yellow onion, sliced

 2 garlic cloves, minced

4 small China potatoes, diced and parboiled

1 can baked beans

300g hind/ loin meat, sliced

 a quarter tsp salt

 1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp light soya sauce for marinate, 1 tsp for sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

 half a teaspoon of pepper

 2 tbsp of cooking oil, 0.5 tbsp of sesame oil

1. Slice the pork and marinate with 1 tsp light soya sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, pepper and sesame oil.

2. Dice the potatoes and parboil for 5 minutes on high heat. Drain water and set aside.

3. Use 2 tbsp of cooking oil and a dash of sesame oil to fry minced garlic till fragrant.

4. Add in parboiled potatoes to pan fry with the garlic.

5. Then add in the sliced onion and marinated pork to fry till the onion turns translucent.

6. Add in the can of baked beans and 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup. (Add in a pinch of sugar if the tomato ketchup/ brand of baked beans is a tad too sour), add in 1 tsp of light soya sauce and bring to a boil.

7. Serve hot with rice.

Let me hear you say?

Large BBQ Steamboat set for $50.90

A standard set of marinated pork slices, pork belly, scallops, fishcake, tiger prawns, assorted vegetables and Mama instant noodles.

A medium portion of chicken thigh meat marinated with raw quail eggs $16

Oyster mushroom $5

Homemade fish paste in a bamboo holder. $9

A seafood broth boiled from vegetables, pork bones, crabs and corn kernels.

That fiery hot chilli sauce that no one can get enough of.

Let me hear you say?

Moo.

Mooka.

Mookata.

Tomyumkungfu Mookata! :)

Salted Vegetables, Tomatoes and Pork Rib Soup

The days have been significantly cooler in the recent months with frequent showers. And there's really nothing like a comforting bowl of piping hot soup on the dinner table at night for a satisfying end to the day. Seeing as how it's just the first weeks of the new year, work does threaten to stop all semblance of normalacy. Thankfully, this recipe is one of the simplest to follow and the soup comes out addictively flavoursome every single time. So take a break from all those one-pot pastas and do a one-pot soup for dinner sometime! :)

Ingredients:
300 gm Pork Ribs
4 Tomatoes, quartered
3 leaves of Salted Mustard Greens, pre-soaked in water for 15 minutes and roughly chopped into chunks.
1 Salted (Pickled) Plum

2L of Water
Pepper, to taste

Method: 

1.  Boil water in a small pot.  Blanch pork ribs for a couple of minute to remove impurities and wash with room temperature water before setting it aside.

2.  In a larger pot, place chunks of presoaked salted mustard greens, salted pickled plum and blanched pork ribs into the water and bring it to a boil. Then turn the heat down to a minimum and let it simmer for at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Add a generous dash of pepper and quartered tomatoes. Let soup come to a gradual boil before serving.

Note:  

*If you like your soup less salty, soak the salted mustard greens for a longer time in water.

*For a richer tasting soup, use chicken stock instead of water

*Add a pack of diced soft tofu for a protein boost!

Saeb บะหมี่ แสบ X2 (Noodle+Khamoo Restaurant)

Eating like the locals  Singaporeans do.

It was already 1.45pm by the time we got to Phetchaburi Soi 15 just before Glow Pratunam Hotel. These guys have moved from a couple of streets down and their legion of adoring fans have moved along with them. All of Singapore was here.

This being my first time ever. And they had already sold out of the braised pork trotters by then.

The choice was clear then.

Wanton noodles or nothing, really.

They moved like clockwork. These two men and their agile hands. One dealing with the art of blanching the noodles and the other spearing wantons and random pieces of char siew for every bowl of noodle.

The wanton soup takes the shortest time to prepare since all these parcels were already wrapped and blanched, needing only a shallow cover of soup.

The filling was too little to be enjoyed.

The minced pork had an unmistakable sweetness to it that I didn't take very well to.

I was watching the family on the next table enjoying their wanton noodles, wondering what it would taste like.

It was only when I saw the man with glisteningly bright lips that I realised what was the thing that drew in all the crowds.

Lard.

It's all about the lard.

Not the bass. 

Pun totally intended.

I couldn't resist.

Unlike our local wanton noodles with a soy sauce, ketchup or chilli base,

this version was just keeping it simple with the allure of pork lard.

The noodles were springy and had no taste of alkaline which I appreciated.

The servings were very manageable.

So much so that many have ordered an extra helping or two just to make for one complete meal.

For 50 baht, 

this was affordable but I could hardly understand the draw that it held for the Singaporean crowd besides the fact that it has been featured on one too many blogs, including this post.

Try it.

And then, try something else next time.

There's too much good food in Bangkok to be savoured elsewhere :)

Homecooked to perfection

Understated beauty.

All my life we've been on the lower ground floors.

 Dinner was a massive affair for a one man show starting from 3pm and only ending at about 630pm.

Starting off with a simple cherry tomato and lettuce salad 

drizzled with basalmic vinaigrette dressing.

A perfectly al dente aglio olio. 

The pasta was boiled and simply stir fried with chopped garlic sauteed and tossed in olive oil and chopped parsley.

Diced red onions and chopped parsley.

These mussles sat simmering in a vin blanc broth cooked till dry.

And they all opened up so beautifully.

Deliciously satisfying tender pork ribs.

What's that addictive sauce?

The secret of V8 veggie juice and Worcester sauce.

Ohyum.

Saving the best for last.

Moussaka fresh out of the oven.

It's everything you could imagine in a moussaka.

Slices of aubergine lightly glazed with oil and baked.

A rich minced beef sauce simmered in tomato puree.

Layer by layer they alternated.

Topped with a rich and creamy bechamel sauce and could we ever forget,

a generous topping of cheese.

A beaten egg added to the bechamel sauce before topping would have made for a more authentic custard-like finish that would have been more filling.

Not that it would stop me from going for seconds, really.

And dinner was served.

No, this was not the Masterchef.

But this was his very adorable nephew who was unfortunately feeling under the weather and was crying his lungs out most of the time we were there.

Thanks for opening up your home.

Cooking your day away for a bunch of girlfriends getting together and catching up.

The food was awesome.

The company was great.

Monday blues...

Say what?

 :)

上海人家 Shanghai Ren Jia

A tiny enclave in the Ang Mo Kio area serving up shanghainese cuisine.

Tucked away in the void deck of Block 151 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5,

it's a blink and you'll miss it.

Ordering for four.

They don't have GST or service charges here.

But they do have a table setting fee of $1.20 per person which includes the wet tissues and hot tea.

These were the first to arrive.

The popiah freshly deep fried.

A delightfully crisp exterior with a filling of moist savoury cabbage that melt in your mouth.

$7.20 for 6 pieces.

Once you pop, you can't stop.

猪排鸡丁手拉面

Pork rib and diced chicken cube noodles at $6 a portion.

The pork rib was a bit of a misnomer.

It's just a piece of pork cutlet so painfully thin and tough.

The diced chicken cubes were rightfully so with three pieces, the rest were pieces of tau kwa.

The saving grace?

Their noodles.

Delightfully springy and although pale, were delicious with the shallot oil and dark soy based gravy.

At a price of $6, the toppings were tragic.

And this didn't use to be the case when I had them a couple of years back.

小龙包里的内涵。

This bamboo basket of 5 soup dumplings go for $6.

These were packed full of savoury soup with a hint of ginger.

That would be the reason why they do not serve ginger slices here.

Vinegar is served only on request.

The dumpling skin was a tad too thick for my liking so for the price they are charging, 

I'd rather have the ones at Din Tai Fung.

These pan fried pork buns cost $8.40 for 6 pieces.

Which works out to be $1.40 per bun.

上棉下脆。肉馅多汁。一口的完美。

What I loved was the texture of each bite.

The pork buns had a soft fluffy skin on the upper half.

And a crisp exterior on the lower half where it had been pan fried.

I would've liked the pork filling encased within to be a bit more generous but that pint sized filling packed a punch on its own with its savoury juices aplenty.

It left me a little moreish after every bite.

Would it work if I bought those deliciously fluffy handmade pork buns from dim sum stalls and pan fried them at home?

The cosy interior of the restaurant promises a queue for lunch and dinner since seating space was very limited. 

Wait time for the food was not as long as mentioned in other reviews, we waited for about an average of 10 minutes before the noodles arrived and time in between dishes was about 5-10 minutes.

We will be back to try the other more substantial dishes for dinner. :)

Address: Blk 151, Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 #01-3046
Operating hours: 11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm, closed on Monday

Five Little Bears 五隻小熊

 The Five Little Bears have moved from their original store at Bugis Junction to Far East Plaza where they have taken up a spacious unit at the first floor.

Boasting authentic food from Taichung,

it was perfect for us both looking forward to some comfort food on this cold and rainy Friday.

Long tables in a canteen style seating arrangement maximises seating capacity in this self service restaurant.

The lunch hour was over by now but still there were a few other groups of diners like us catching a late lunch.

We asked the lady at the cashier for recommendations and she picked just two which was perfect for us both.

The braised pork rice.

At $5.90 for a set that comes with a choice of red/black/wintermelon tea.

The presentation was picture perfect and typically authentic.

This picture was taken without any filter.

The braised pork was tender and melted into one's mouth but the gravy lacked a certain kind of savoury oomph that I had tasted when at Formosa Zhang 鬍鬚張.

The salted vegetables were a perfect accompaniment to take away the oils from the fatty meats.

The braised egg which I saved to the last, was however much too dry. :/

Their other house special was the oyster mee sua.

At a price of $5.50 for a set with the same choices of tea.

The oysters were a welcome sight.

Huge and fatty.

There was no fishy taste present in these oysters and that was a definite plus point here.

The 蚵仔麵線 was cooked with the red mee sua, unlike the white ones we usually cook here in Singapore.

These are flat noodles which are thicker and makes them more resilient to cooking for longer periods of time.

Loved the thoughtful additions of vinegar, grated garlic and chilli.

Perfect bowl of yum when that was all mixed up together.

I just wished it was served piping hot as my last mouthfuls of the noodles were much too quickly cooled under the air conditioning system to be enjoyed.

On the overall though, there was an unmistakable air of simple comfort food that resonates in this cosy restaurant which leaves us feeling happily satiated after our meal even though there were some hits and misses with the food items here.

We'll be back for their desserts sometime soon :)

Buta Kimchi Chigae

Homemade kimchi.

Napa vegetables quartered and soaked overnight in salted water.

Drain and wash two to three times to remove salt and sediments.

Radish salted and drained.

Scallions quartered.

Mix Korean beanpaste (gochujang) with 

Salted shrimp (saeujeot),

Fish sauce,

Chilli spice powder,

Sugar,

Minced garlic/ ginger,

And some flour mixed with water.

Carefully spread the paste over the vegetables leaf by leaf.

And mix thoroughly.

Pack into an airtight bag/ jar and let it ferment.

We made this in Jeju when we were staying at our guesthouse.

This kimchi making class cost us way more than we were prepared to pay for a huge pile of vegetables but I must say that it does taste pretty awesome.

What better way to bring back my K memories but for a bowl of pork kimchi soup.

Boil kimchi with water and add one cube of Knorr chicken seasoning to 1 litre of water.

Add in sliced pork once it comes to a boil.

Don't bother with marinating the pork.

That kimchi flavour will do all its magic for you.

:)

Chicken, pork rib, mushroom stew.

Grandma's back in the game.

She's got an amazing strength and great talent when it comes to the kitchen and all that which 'home cooking' stands for.

Today's stew was cooked over charcoal.

Which really made all the difference in the world.

The best part?

The stew is kept heated and never burnt, gently bubbling over the leftover white-hot ashes.

Generous cuts of chinese black flower mushrooms,

meaty pork ribs with soft bones, 

chicken drumsticks and hardboiled eggs.

Stewed in a light soy gravy.

The mushrooms were fully absorbent of the gravy and burst into a plethora of juices on first bite.

The pork ribs were stewed till tender and fell apart almost immediately.

Likewise for the chicken drumsticks.

The gravy.

Was fragrant and light enough on tastebuds to be drunk almost like a soup.

Which was perfect since that meant I could happily skip rice. :) 

Home cooked.

Always the best kind of yum.

Cooking for family

Diced 4 water chestnuts.

Peel and chop 12 medium sized grey prawns into three parts.

Mix 400g of minced pork and diced water chestnut with 2 tbsp of oyster sauce, a dash of sesame oil, white pepper and a tsp of soya sauce.

Chop spring onions to be used either mixed into the filling or as a garnish for the soup.

(I divided the pork into two portions for two different types of filling- for a 云吞: minced pork, chestnut and spring onions/ for a 水饺: minced pork, shrimp and chestnut)

Makes enough filling for one pack of wanton wrappers, approximately 34 sheets.

For each wanton wrapper, place a generous ball of pork and shrimp filling in the middle before sealing with beaten egg and crimping the ends tightly.

Bring water to a boil before putting in the dumplings to cook. 

The dumplings are ready when the skin turns slightly translucent and they float up to the surface.

Serve in a stock made from simple boiled ikan bilis and peeled prawn heads reserved from earlier (or simply use Knorr ikan bilis MSG free cubes).

Serve dried with the noodles blanched and tossed in a base of sesame oil, oyster sauce, a little soup stock and sambal chilli (optional)

Top with dumplings, roasted bbq pork and chinese kale.

Or simply serve in soup. :)

The dumplings were no sweat.

It's the separate blanching of vegetables and noodles together with the final assembly of soup/ dried orders of noodles that took a while.

But all worth it.

Tummy satisfied!