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

Gula Melaka Steamed Cake

Ingredients 

150g gula melaka

100g milk

3 eggs

150g self raising flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

80g corn oil

Method

Melt gula melaka and milk over slow fire. The aroma will be amazing. :)

Beat 3 eggs until creamy.

Add sifted self raising flour and baking soda to the egg mixture. Making sure that there are no lumps. Add the corn oil. 

After the gula melaka mix has cooled slightly, add that into the mixture as well and stir till incorporated. The syrup is denser than the rest of the mixture so when you pour out the mixture, don't worry if you see gula melaka left over. Just stir it well into the final batter before steaming.

Steam for half an hour or until cooked. (Use a bamboo skewer. Cake is done when skewer comes out clean :))

It tastes a lot like the steamed Malay Cake. Although it's really rich in the coconut sugar taste, I think I might add a knot of pandan into the sugar to boil next time for added fragrance :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

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 

The Nation's Golden Jubilee Celebrations @ Padang Grandstand in photos

Yam rice with pork belly, chinese black mushrooms, dried scallops and dried shrimps :)

I'm glad to say that my first attempt at yam rice was a yammy-licious success! :)

•  Half a purple yam, peeled and cubed *1 whole purple yam, 450g
•  5 garlic cloves, chopped
•  5 shallots, sliced
•  1 dried scallop (conpoy) *8 large dried scallops
•  100g dried shrimp *150g small dried shrimp
•  4 dried mushrooms *8 dried mushrooms, sliced
•  1 Chinese sausage, skin removed, sliced *not used
•  300g pork belly, sliced *200g lean pork
•  1 tsp salt
•  2 tsp sugar *1.5 tsp sugar
•  1 tsp dark soya sauce *2 tsp dark soya sauce
•  1 tsp light soya sauce *0.5 tsp concentrated chicken broth
•  5 rice cups of rice
•  6 rice cups of water *1 extra cup of mushroom reserve water, 20ml of scallop reserve water
•  5 tbsp of cooking oil *1 tbsp of sesame oil

1. Wash the rice and set aside.

2. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water until soft. Rinse and slice.

3. Rinse the dried scallop, then soak in a little hot water.

4. Shred the scallop.

5. Rinse the dried shrimp and soak in water.

6. Heat two tablespoonfuls of oil and fry the yam until lightly browned. Set aside.

7. Heat one tablespoonful of oil and 0.5 tbsp of sesame oil and fry the sliced pork belly till brown. Set aside. *Pour reserve oil into prewashed rice.

8. Heat two tablespoonfuls of oil and 0.5 tbsp of sesame oil, fry the garlic and shallots until golden brown, then add the scallop, dried shrimp and mushrooms.

9. Add in the washed rice, fried yam and pork.

10. Add in one teaspoonful of salt and 1.5 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Add in one teaspoonful of light soya sauce, two teaspoonful of dark soya sauce, 0.5 tsp of concentrated chicken broth

11. Remove the mixture from the wok and transfer into the rice cooker.

12. Add six cups of water + 1 cup of mushroom reserve water and 20ml of scallop reserve water. Use the rice cooker to cook the rice until done.

13. Serve with chopped coriander and dried shallots .(optional)

All my adaptations of the recipe have been indicated with an asterix * next to the ingredients list. We love our rice with a chockful of ingredients :) Dad loves sesame oil so he suggested the addition of sesame oil. I didn't want to just add it into the rice. So I've incorporated it into the frying of the ingredients. Just a little sesame oil does bring up the fragrance of the rice!

Cook happy. And eat well. From my kitchen to yours! <3 br="">

Credits:

http://www.soshiok.com/recipe/yam-rice-recipe-hed-chef

Nonya Chap Chye

Tried and tested. 

This was such a crowd pleaser that I've cooked it the very next week after my first attempt.

What a happy myriad of colours!

This week's edition was same same but different.

Using some deep fried pork belly instead.

And I added black moss (not in picture) this time :)

•  8 large dried mushrooms
•  1 litre of water, or more if necessary
•  100g haebi or dried shrimp
•  10g dried black fungus or cloud ear fungus
•  100g black moss
•  10g dried golden lily buds
•  20g tung hoon or bean vermicelli
•  20g tau kee or sweet beancurd skin
•  5Tbs cooking oil, and more oil for deep-frying the tau kee
•  200g pork belly, sliced into thin strips
•  1Tbs garlic, finely chopped
•  2 1/2Tbs tau cheo or fermented soyabean paste
•  1kg cabbage, washed and cut roughly into pieces
•  100g jicama, peeled and cut into strips about 4cm long and 1cm thick
•  10g beancurd skin
•  1Tbs concentrated chicken stock
•  Salt to taste
•  Oyster sauce to taste

1. Wash the dried mushrooms and boil in a small pot with about 400ml of water for about five to 10 minutes, until they have softened. Drain but keep the liquid (mushroom water) for use later. Cut the mushrooms into strips. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, soak the dried shrimp, black fungus, black moss, golden lily buds and tung hoon in separate bowls of water for about 10 minutes. Drain each item and set aside. Tie the lily buds into knots and trim the ends. Set aside.

3. Wipe the sheets of tau kee with a damp cloth, then cut them into 5cm squares. Deep-fry in hot oil until brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

4. Heat 5Tbs of oil in a large wok on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the dried shrimp and fry until fragrant.

5. Add the strips of pork belly and continue to fry until cooked.

6. Add the garlic, then the tau cheo and fry for about one minute.

7. Next, put in the cabbage and jicama and stir. Add about 200ml of water. Cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring intermittently.

8. Add the mushroom water that you had set aside earlier, followed by the mushrooms, black fungus and golden lily buds. Stir. Add just enough water to submerge most of the ingredients.

9. Bring the liquid to a boil. Add more water if necessary. The vegetables should be cooked and soft, but not mushy.

10. When boiling, add the tau kee and black moss. Stir gently and simmer for about five minutes. Add the beancurd skin and tung hoon.

11. Add the concentrated chicken stock, salt and oyster sauce to taste.

- See more at: http://www.soshiok.com/recipe/nonya-chap-chye#sthash.rAi3exL2.dpuf

Credits:

http://www.soshiok.com/recipe/nonya-chap-chye

Adjustments:

I used some of the reserved water from soaking the dried prawns as well.

Taking the healthier (less mess too!) option, I didn't deep fry the tau kee so I've added it in together in Step 8 to let it cook for longer.

Since I was using fermented soybean instead, I mixed the oyster sauce, salt and chicken stock cubes together before adding it in to the simmering vegetables.

If you're using chicken stock cubes instead, you'd need one to one and a half cubes.

I added in two tablespoons of oyster sauce and a quarter teaspoon of salt.

And if you're wondering if sio bak or regular pork belly is better for taste, I'd say it's really up to your own personal preference.

But if you left it to me, I'd cook with pork belly and top it off with sio bak! :)

Happy cooking!

From my kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Preserved salted vegetables in sweetened dark soy sauce

The taste of my childhood-

Is redolent in this dish.

The simplest indulgence for a lunch affair.

A pot of sweet potato porridge.

Shallow fried pieces of luncheon meat complete with crisp edges.

And a plate of preserved vegetables.

What's that about?

Sweet salty never took on better combinations.

Two cloves of garlic, roughly chopped.

Half a head of preserved salted vegetables, chopped.

Half a bowl of dark soya sauce.

2 tbsp of sugar.

1 tbsp of canola oil.

Heat up pan and fry garlic till fragrant.

Add in chopped salted vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes.

Add in half a bowl of dark soya sauce and 2 tsbp of sugar.

Fry till vegetables are well coated in sauce.

Turn to low heat and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot.

With all those other dishes above.

Childhood.

The tastes that bring us back to where we started.

But where did all that time go?