Red wine chicken 红糟鸡

Ingredients

1kg of chicken wings
4-5 slices of gingers
1-2  clove garlic
Red Dreg
3 tablespoon of rice wine
2 tablespoon of soya sauce
A dash of pepper
spring onions for garnish


Methods

1) Wash the chicken wings clean
2) Add oil , stir fried the garlics and gingers till fragrant
3) Add in chicken wings
4) fry till slight brown
5) Add in rice wine , soya sauce, pepper
6) then add in red dreg till the consistency you want
7) cover and simmer over small heat for 15 minutes ( till chicken wings cooked)
8) serve hot with spring onions

Martell drunken prawns

Ingredients
- 400g  fresh big  prawns
- 3 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Diao Jiu 花雕酒 or Shao Xing Jiu 绍兴酒)
- 4-6  tablespoons of Martell ( enough to cover the prawns)
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- a handful of wolfberries
- 3 thick spring onion stalks (the bottom white part)
- 3 to 5 slices of ginger
-  for garnish - spring onions  and coriander


Directions

1. Trim off the feelers off the prawns and clean the prawns with salt water
2.  Arrange the spring onions stalks in the bowl and arrange the prawns in a claypot bowl
3. Pour in Martell and chinese wine over prawns and rest for 5 minutes
4. Add in the sesame oil ,ginger slices ,wolfberries
5. Steam on high heat for 10-15 minutes till prawns turn red ( do not over cook)
6. Garnish with spring onions and coriander.
7. Enjoy while hot !

Hakka Abacus Seeds

My mum and I decided to make this dish today. Our first attempt. The suan pan zi is consider a sucessful because it taste very "Q" and very fragrant. Congrats MUM!! U did it !

History:
suan pan zi, or abacus seeds, has one counting his blessings the minute one bites into the springy discs of yam, shaped after its namesake. This traditional Hakka dish is eaten during festive celebrations such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival for prosperity.

Abacus seeds, however, is a simple dish to make. The only things one needs to pay attention to, s is the tapioca flour-to-yam ratio, and the process of kneading the dough. Too much flour, and the yam discs become hard. Too much yam, and the seeds will not hold their shape.It is also important to knead the yam and flour together while the boiled yam paste is still warm. The heat from the yam paste might be a little uncomfortable but doing so ensures that the abacus seeds have a springy bite.



Ingredients:


1kg purple yam, cleaned, peeled and diced.


4 tsp salt


700g tapioca flour


6 Tbs cooking oil


3 tsp sesame oil


2 tsp soya sauce


10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced


100g dried shrimp, coarsely blended


150g dried Chinese mushroom, soaked till soft and sliced


100g minced pork ( optional)


2 tsp pepper


1 tsp oyster sauce

Garnish: spring onions and celery



Methods:

Steam the yam until it is soft and mash it while it is hot.

Stir in the tapioca flour and salt and knead into a dough. Pinch off enough dough to roll into a ball 2cm in diameter. Press the ball between your thumb and forefinger so that it is depressed in the middle and shaped like an abacus seed. Repeat until dough is used up.

Fill a pot with water to the three-quarter mark and bring it to a boil. Place abacus seeds in the pot and cook it for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the seeds from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When cooked, the seeds will float to the top. Scoop out the cooked abacus seeds and leave them aside to drain.To a hot wok, add 4 Tbs of oil and fry the garlic for 2 minutes till golden brown before adding dried shrimp and mushroom. Stir fry the mixture for another 5 minutes, then set aside.

Add 2 Tbs of oil to the hot wok and fry the minced pork for about 10 minutes until all the moisture in the wok has evaporated.10. To the minced pork, add in the cooked garlic, dried shrimp, mushroom, abacus seeds as well as pepper and soya sauce. Stir fry for 5 minutes.
Serve with chopped spring onions and celery. Enjoy!!!

We can try replacing it with pumpkin instead. But we need more flour because pumpkin contains more moisture than yam.

Crocodile Herbal Soup

Ingredients:

One packet of Crocodile flank meat
One packet of herbs

Content of HerbsBei Qi 北芪
Dang Shen 当参
Nan Xing 南杏
Bei Xing 北杏
Huai Shan 淮山
Yu Zhu 玉竹
Gou Qi Zi 枸杞子
few red dates (红枣)


Methods:

1) Boil a pot of water and blanch the crocodile meat
2) Boil another pot of water add in all the herbs and boil for 30minutes
3) Add in the crocodile meat and simmer.
4) Let it cook for 2 to 3 hours and don’t forget to add some Shaoxing wine aka Hua Diao Jiu (花雕酒) to further enhance the taste better.


It is advisable to eat the crocodile meat, otherwise slice the meat into shreds and add into the porridge.

The Health Benefits of Crocodile Meat

• Good for asthma people.
• Good for general health purposes.
• Fish-like products.
• Low cholesterol.
• Family friendly (everybody in the family can use it).

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg)
• 5 whole cloves garlic, plus 2 cloves, chopped
• 7 thick slices ginger, unpeeled
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 675g jasmine rice
• 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• coriander, sliced cucumber and spring onion, to serve

Iced water for soaking cooked chicken:
1 bowl of water with ice cubes to cover the chicken

Chilli Sauce

• 6 red chillies
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1-2 Tbsp chicken stock

Ginger sauce

• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
• 3 tbsp oil

Methods:


 Clean the chicken and cut off any excess fats and put the whole garlic cloves and 5 slices of ginger in the cavity of the chicken and place breast-side down in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to just below a simmer. The water should be steaming well, but not bubbling. Keep the heat at this stage for 20 minutes, then cover the pot and turn off the heat. Leave for 30 minutes, then lift out the chicken, keeping the poaching stock. Soak the chicken into a bowl of ice water for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Then, brush the chicken skin with sesame oil and wrap with plastic wrap. The chicken should be cooked very lightly, pink inside the bones and with a gelatinous skin.

Rice
Heat 1 tbsp of the chicken fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and remaining 2 slices of ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the rice and toss until well coated and turning opaque. Add 1.25 litres of the reserved chicken stock, the salt and soy sauce. You can also add a few pandan leaves, tied in a knot (if you have them). Cook in a rice cooker or by your preferred method of cooking rice.

Chilli sauce
Combine chillies, ginger, garlic, sugar and salt in a food processor for a minute. Add the lemon juice and 1-2 tablespoons of hot chicken stock and processed again. Set aside.

Ginger sauce
 Heat the oil in a small frying pan until smoking and pour hot oil into the grated ginger. Once the sizzling stops, leave to infuse for a few minutes.

Slice the chicken Chinese-style and pour the dressing over it. Scatter with a little coriander and serve with the rice, condiments, broth and garnishes.

Fried Hong Kong Yee Fu Mee

 

 

 

I love this Ee Fu mee and this dish is often served in hotel or wedding banquets. Now you can fried this mee at the comfort of your home . Basically the ingredients are up to you and what you want. I had fried many many versions like seafood, meat, plain ones. This is super easy and tasty.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

1 packet of Yee Fu Mee
!/2 Cabbage
2 slices of baby corn
Half can of luncheon meat cut into cubes
2 slices of bacons
1-2 eggs ( depends on your preferences)
Garnish with green spring onions

 

 

Methods:

 

 

1) Soften the Yee Fu mee in boiling water for 2 mintues and drain away the water

2) Chopped up the baby corns , luncheons meats and bacons

3) Chopped up the cabbages

4) Heat up the wok

5) Fried the eggs first

6) Remove the eggs and fried the ingredients

7) Add in 1 Tbsp soya sauce,1 Tsp of dark soya sauce 1Tsp sesame oil and a dash of pepper

7) When the ingredients are halfway cooked, pour in the Yee Fu Mee

9) Add in 1 cup of chicken stock

8) Stir fried again until the stock is drying up

9) Lastly add in fried eggs

10) Served hot and enjoy this wonderful mee!



 

 



 

 

Baked Cheesy Portobello

 

 

 

Giant portobello mushrooms are terrific as a side dish for grilled fish or steak, or as a vegetarian main dish "steak." Paired with grilled sweet red peppers on a kaiser roll, they make delectable sandwiches. Buy a block of good-quality Parmesan or other sharp cheese and use a vegetable peeler to shave it straight off the block.This is a super easy & gourmet-looking baked mushrooms.

 

Ingredients:

• 6 pieces of  medium portobello mushrooms ( about 200g) ( stalks removed, caps cleaned and patted dry)
• 50 grams shredded mozerealla cheese
• 40 grams ham (about 2 slices) cubed
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• parsley for garnishing

Methods:

1. Place portobello mushrooms, cap side down, on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
2. Divide and top mushrooms with cheese, followed by the cubed ham and garlic. Season with salt and black pepper. Drizzle olive oil over the mushrooms.
3. Baked in preheated oven of 200°C for 15minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the toppings start to brown. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley.

Baked cheesy Mussels with Penne

I love mussels but some resturant are selling them for a hefty price. Hence, I only cook mussels and eat at home.The idea for this dish came from the mussel dish from Fish & Co. and Swensen. It's easy to make too.

 
Ingredients:

1 packet of mussels
Tomato based pasta
Mozzeralla Cheese

Methods:

1)Steam the mussels for 3 minutes first. If you don't partially cook it first to remove the liquid, when you bake it later, it will be very wet. Then the sauce and cheese will flow out of the mussels.

2)After steaming the mussels, drain them. Spoon pasta sauce to cover fill the shell. Top with shredded mozzeralla cheese. Sprinkle some chopped parsley if you like.

3)Bake at 180C for 10 minutes or till you see the sauce bubbling out of the cheese and that the cheese has melted.
4) Served hot with pasta or eat on it own.

Baked Parika Chicken Wings

BBQ Parika chicken wings



BBQ honey chicken wings

Have you ever drool at the sight of the BBQ chicken wings at hawker stall ? Well, now you can try to make your own at home using oven. You will feel that it is healthier and less oily as compare to outside.

Ingredients:

1kg chicken wings ( I prefer fresh ones )
3 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp  soy sauce
3 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp of Parika powder  (replace with 2 tbsp of honey for variations )
1 Tbsp of pepper
2 Tbsp of oyster sauce
2 Tbsp of White wine
2 lime slices
1 saucer of Chilli sauce ( i bought the chicken rice chilli sauce and added some lime juice)

Methods:

1)Wash clean the chicken wings
2) Place the chicken wings in a huge container
3) All in all the ingredients except the limes and chilli sauce
4) Mix well and marinate overnight if possible
5) Place on the baking tray and bake in oven at grill mode @200 degrees for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven
6) Squeeze some lime juices and dip in chilli before eating
7) Enjoy !

Emperor Chicken wings

This is a popular and easy dish for my family members. I usually buy the SEAH brand and it will come with the powder herb and the aluminium and plastics wrapping . You can make this in advance so that you can steam it when ever you want to have it.

Ingredients:

1kg of chicken wings
2 tablespoons of wolfberries ( Soak in water before use)
8 pieces of dry mushrooms ( Soak in hot water before use)
1 Packet of powder herbs

Methods:

1)Wash the chicken wings and dry with paper towels
2) Place the dry chicken wings on the plastic wrapping and below is the aluminium wrapping.
3) Use hand and apply the powder herbs all over the chicken wings
3) Add in wolfberries and mushrooms on top of the chicken
4) Mix all ingredients with the chicken wings

5) Wrap up the chickens wings tightly and put on a bowl
6) Steam over low heat for 2- 3 hours
7) Served with white rice

Chicken with Cordyceps Militaris Soup

My first try of this chicken soup. My family love it very much. The main benefits had been written below:

Benefits of Cordyceps Militaries Anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects
Improved respiratory and liver functions
Reduced blood and urine sugars, reduced blood pressure
Reduced risk of heart diseases
Immunostimulating and immunomodulating activities.
Improved sexual function and stamina
Original recipe taken from  http://yukiecody.blogspot.sg/#!/2012/10/chicken-with-cordyceps-militaris-soup.html

I had made some changes to the receipe as below:

Ingredients

3 chicken drumsticks
10g cordyceps militaris (虫草花)
5 pieces of dry longans
10 red dates (seed removed)
3 dang sheng
3 ginger slices
1 tbsp wolfberries
1 tsp salt

Methods

1) Blanch chicken drumsticks  in boiling water for 2 mins to remove the blood. Pour away the water.
2) Bring a fresh pot of water to boil, add in chicken and all herbs except for wolfberries. Boil for 10 mins, cover lid and simmer for 3 hours over low fire.
3) 10 mins before serving, add in wolfberries and a tsp of salt.