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 

Capturing sunsets :)

Serves 5

400g of fish fillet, sliced
2 tablespoons of shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon of sesame oil + 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to finish
30g of old ginger, chopped into matchsticks
0.5 teaspoon of pepper
0.5 teaspoon of salt
0.5 teaspoon of soya sauce
8 medium sized scallops, soaked and shredded
3 cups of rice, washed
1 salted egg, hardboiled
1.5 cubes of Knorr chicken seasoning (No MSG Added)
1 stalk of spring onion

Prepare the fish by marinating the sliced fish fillet with shaoxing wine, sesame oil, ginger, pepper, salt and soya sauce. Use your hands to really work the seasoning into the fish slices but be careful not to break the fish meat with too much force. Set it aside.

Boil the rice, scallops and add the chicken seasoning cubes when the porridge is almost cooked. Then top up with more water and keep stirring till the consistency of choice is achieved. I estimate myself to have used about 2.5 L of water in total.

Add the fish slices and simmer on low heat till fish slices are cooked thoroughly. Bring the porridge to a boil and add in one tablespoon of sesame oil to finish.

Serve topped with spring onion, more old ginger, pepper and with salted eggs on the side :)

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

Sweet and sour fish :)

Ingredients:

1 Fresh gold band snapper - 1kg, descaled, degutted, sliced into half with head and tail removed. $9

2 tomatoes, sliced into eighths each $0.60

1 yellow onion, sliced into eighths $0.20

A knob of old ginger, sliced $0.20

5 tablespoons of tomato ketchup $0.20

1 teaspoon of Kikkoman soya sauce $0.20

2 teaspoons of corn flour $0.10

100 + 10 ml of corn oil $0.40

A dash of pepper + a pinch of salt $0.20

20 ml of water

Method:

A pinch of salt and a dash of pepper sprinkled on both sides of the fish.

2 teaspoons of corn flour sprinkled on skin side of fish and patted in lightly.

Heat 100ml of corn oil (reserve just one tablespoon) and place 5 slices of ginger into the oil when heated. 

Place fish skin side down to fry on high heat for a couple of minutes. 

Turn the fish over to fry on high heat till thoroughly cooked. 

Leave the fish aside to drain the oil on some kitchen towel.

Pour away the oil and clean the pan with kitchen towel before adding the 10ml of corn oil. 

Once heated, add the ginger (sliced into matchsticks), onion and fry till fragrant.

Add the 5 tablespoons of tomato ketchup (or more if more gravy is favoured) and soya sauce.

Add water when the mixture bubbles till consistency of choice.

Add the tomatoes to fry for a couple of minutes till well mixed with the sauce.

Plate the fish and spoon the sweet and sour sauce over the fish. :)

Optional : Diced pineapple slices for the sauce.

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

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

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.

米粉被谁骗了？🐟 因为鱼骗米粉！

Two of Dad & lil bro's prized fish. After my fingers have been sliced, stabbed, pricked and my nails ruined to the moon and back, all while trying to gut, clean and fillet fish, I have newfound respect for all fishmongers! 

And I'll pay any amount to have fish soup outside.

But for now,

this was what came out of a whole arvo spent in the kitchen from 11am till 4pm.

Just to make things clear though. 

I've never cleaned or filleted a fish before.

So this could all possibly be done in a fraction of the time for the more skillful chefs.

Or really, just get the fishmonger to do it for you. :)

Bubble, bubble. Toil and ALOT of trouble.

But it was all worth it!

Presenting fishhead rice vermicelli soup UPSIZED! :)

• One fish of 1-2 kg (Slice the fish flesh in thick pieces and set aside fish head, bones and tails)
• 5 stalks of spring onion – White portion
• Few stalks of choy sum (Chinese flowering cabbage)
• 5 cm of ginger, sliced into thin pieces)

• 250 grams of rice vermicelli – blanched and set aside.
• 3-4 leaves of salted vegetable (sliced into thick pieces)
• 2 fresh tomatoes (cut into 4 quarters each fruit)
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons of anchovies
• 1 cube of chicken stock
• 1 – 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine
• Dashes of white pepper
• 1 tablespoon of XO alcohol (optional)

I added slices of bittergourd. Sliced thinly. :)

Fish meat marinate (depends on the quantity of fish meat that you have)

• Some sesame oil
• Chinese Shaoxing Wine
• Kikkoman Soya Sauce
• White pepper

• Marinate the fish meat with white pepper, sesame oil, corn flour and salt for about 1 hour. I skipped the deep frying part so I just left it to sit in the fridge after marinating.

• Use the same oil to deep fried the  fish head, bones and tails for 2-3 minutes or until the exterior is cooked. This step is optional and the main purpose of this step is to remove some fishiness of the fish and to preserve the exterior texture of the fish. You can deep fried these either with flour or without flour. Dish up and set aside.

• In another stock pot, put 1-2 tablespoons of oil and the sesame oil above, Sauté the ginger slices until fragrant, add the anchovies, the white part of spring onion, add water gradually just adequate to cover fried fish head and bones earlier. You can always adjust the water later.

• Put in the fish head, fish bones and tails. (Note that at this stage, you can add in the salted vegetables if you want to. However, it will be very difficult to serve the  vegetable as it will mix with the fish bones. Therefore, I have advised to add it at a later stage though adding the salted vegetables at this stages will yield a tastier soup). Bring to boil and let it simmer at medium heat for at least 30-45 minutes. Add water gradually if you find that the water level is low.  In this process, you will witness the fish stock will become cloudy. *Achievement unlocked! Once done, sift the stock from the first pot to another pot. Throw away the fish head and fish bones.

• In the new pot, add the chicken stock, Chinese cooking wine, salted vegetable, diced tomatoes and bittergourd. Bring to boil and add seasonings of your choice (fish sauce, dashes of white pepper). Once boiled, off the heat, add the XO (if any) and set aside for assembly. Meanwhile, have a pot of water, blanched the choy sum with some drops of oil and followed by the bee hoon. Drained and set aside.

• For assembly, have a bowl, put some bee hoon in the serving bowl and followed by some gravy adequate to cover the bee hoon,  put some blanched choy cum, tomatoes and fish meat on top of the rice vermicelli. Garnished with deep fried shallots, dashes of white pepper and chopped coriander or Chinese celery if preferred.  Best served with red cut chilli and some light soya sauce and usually served as a standalone noodle dish. If you do not like rice vermicelli, it can be served as a soup dish that goes well with white rice.

Credits to : https://kwgls.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/fish-headfillet-rice-vermicelli-soup-%E9%B1%BC%E5%A4%B4%E7%89%87%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89%E6%B1%A4%EF%BC%89/

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?