Yellow wine chicken { 黄酒鸡}

Ingredients:

4 Chicken thighs ( cut into big chunks)
100g of black fungus ( soak and cut )
4 slices of old ginger
4 garlic cloves ( chopped)
200ml of home made yellow rice wine
1 Tbsp of sesame oil
A handful of goji berries

Methods:

~ Heat the wok and add in sesame oil
~ Add in the ginger and fry till fragrant
~ Add in the garlic bits
~ Add in the chicken meats and fry till both sides are lightly brown
~ Pour in about 200ml of rice wine and black fungus
~ Boil on high flame and simmer for about 20 mins
~ Sprinkle the goji berries and serve warm

Crab meat wanton

Ingredients :
~ 1 packet of frozen crab meats
~ 300g of round wanton skin
~ 1 egg
~ 1 cup of Progresso breadcrumbs
~ half cup of Japanese mayo
~ 2 Dash of parika powder

Method:
~ Defrost the crab meat and drain dry
~ Add in the egg, breadcrumbs, Japanese mayo, parika powder
~ Mix well and check if mixture is in sticky texture.
~ Place a tsp of crab mixture on top of the wanton skin
~ Wrap it up and sealed with some olive oil
~ Deep fry till golden brown
~ Serve warm with your favourite sauce

Organic sweet potatoes soup with lotus seeds

Ingredients:

4 organic sweet potatoes
1 cup of dry lotus seeds
2 litres of water
2 slices of ginger
4 pieces of pandan leaves
1 piece of honey rock sugar

Methods :
~ Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Chop into small pieces
~ With dry hands, split the lotus seeds into half  with a small knife and  remove the developing sprout from within if any. Do not wash the seeds.
 ~  In a small pot, add suffficient water to immerse the seeds completely and bring to a boil under high heat.
 ~ While the water is still boiling hot, gently slide in the lotus seeds. Boil on low high till the seeds have soften. You can check by compressing them with the back of your spoon.
~ Then boil another pot with water and add in the pandan leaves, ginger slices and  honey rock sugar
~ Boil for about 5 min and taste the sweetness. If ok, add in the sweet potatoes and boil on low flame.
~ When the sweet potatoes had soften , add in the lotus seeds last.
~ Off the flame and serve while warm.

Chicken rice using rice cooker

Ingredients and methods

Chicken wings

~ 1 kg of chicken wings ( mid joint)

~ Wash clean n pat dry

~ Marinate with 2 Tbsp of light soya sauce , 2 tbsp of mirin , 1 tbsp of oyster sauce , 1 tsp of sesame oil 

~ Keep into the fridge for a few hours. 

Rice 

~ Wash 3 cups of white grain rice 

~ Add 3-4 knots of pandan leaves 

~ 3 cups of chicken broth

~  Grind 4 slices of ginger , 5 cloves of garlic and 1 tbsp of rice bran oil . Mix well n add to the rice 

~ Place the marinated wings on top of the rice 

~ Press and cook rice as per normal 

~ When ready , remove the wings and serve with  the rice separately
~ You can add some sesame oil on top of the wings and celery before serving

~ Enjoy

Alternative method for cooking the Chicken rice  :

Use Kee chicken rice sauce to mix into the rice 

I used about 2 Tablespoon of Kee hainanese chicken rice mix with 4 cups of rice and 4 cups of water. ( The water amount depends on your rice cooker cup or measurements for cooking normal rice)

Arrange the marinated wings on top and press the cook mode .

Saffron rice with cranberries

Ingredients
~ 3 cups of rice
~ 1 tablespoon of Saffron ( soak in warm water for 5 mins) I use a mini bowl
~ Top up with normal water to cook the rice
~ A dash of turmeric powder
~ 50g of salted butter ( melted)
~ Some dry organic cranberries or raisins


Methods
~ Rinse rice grain.
 ~ In a rice cooker, add in rice grain, saffron with the water, turmeric powder, 60g of salted butter.
~ Add in water if not enough to cook the rice. I am using my rice cooker measurements.
~ Mix well and leave to cook
~ Fluff  the rice once ready.
~ Serve with cranberries or raisins

Oven baked chicken lollies

This dish is simple and healthy as these are baked in oven. Can serve as a afternoon snacks for kids!

Ingredients:
~ 1 chicken breast meat ( minced )
~ A dash of parika
~ A dash of salt and black pepper
~ A dash of dry basil leaves
~ Some corn starch
~ A bowl of egg
~ A bowl of progresso  Italian style breadcrumbs
~ Olive oil spray

Methods
~ Marinate the minced chicken meat with the herbs and seasonings
~ Cling wrap and refrigerate in the fridge for 1 hour
~ In the mean time , soak your sticks in water to prevent the sticks from catching fire while grilling in the oven.
~ After one hour, knead the chicken meat into longish shape
~ Poke the wooden stick into the middle of the meat
~ Dip the meat into the egg mixture  and then coat with the bread crumbs
~ Place on to a baking tray
~ Spray some olive oil
~ Bake in oven at grill mode for 20 mins at 180 degrees
~ Serve warm

Steamed garlic prawns

Recently I won 1 kg of king prawns from Gofresh after taking part in a cooking contest. So I decided to steam these big prawns to test out the texture. It was so yummy that my family give thumbs up. Even my kids attempted to try this dish even though they do not eat prawns.

Ingredients

~ 10 big king prawns
~ 3 tablespoon of Hua Tiao Chiew 
~ 1 tablespoon of olive oil
~ 5 Cloves of garlic
~  1 teaspoon of black pepper
~ 1 Tablespoon of light soya sauce
~ A handful of wolf berries
~ A stalk of celery

Methods

~ With a pair of sharp kitchen scissors, remove the whiskers and the legs. Gently butterfly the prawns with scissors and remove the veins. Be careful not to cut too deep to avoid cutting the prawn into half. Place the prawns on a heat proof deep dish plate.
~ Chop the garlic into small bits and stir fry till crispy in olive oil.
~ While waiting for garlic to cool down, place a steam rack inside a large work or pot, fill with water, and bring it to rapid boil. .
~ Then spoon the crispy garlic into each prawn.
~ Mixed the seasoning together and pour onto the prawns
~ Cover and steam on high flame for about 5-6 mins
~ Do not over steam or you will get rubbery texture.
~ Lastly serve hot and garnish with greens of your choice.

Home made pandan juice

 

 

 

 

Wash clean the pandan leaves and use scissors to cut into small pieces ( as small as you can as you do not want to damage your blade ). I used about 100g of pandan leaves here. Discard the pointy tip and the whitish portion. The pointy tip will cause itchiness and the white portion is bitter.

 

Put the leaves into a blender and add 1 cup of water depending on the type of blender you are using .

 

 

Blend Blend Blend

 

Pour everything onto a sieve

 

 

Time for fun! Squeeze with all your might. A good distress workout.

 

Squeeze

 

Squeeeezzzzeeeee

 

 

Finally the finished product !

 

 

 

If you want more "less concentrated" juice, you can repeat the blending and squeezing process again !

 

See the separation ??

 

Important note :

 To get really Concentrated juice, leave your jar in the fridge overnight, you will see a separation of the juice. The super dark green called chlorophyll will be at the bottom and the top will be super light green. I usually used the super concentrated juice for chiffon cake. Very fragrant and lovely green color. If not, you can use for making cake or dessert! Have fun cutting, blending and squeezing!!!

 

Home made honey lemon slices

We all have heard that drinking a glass of warm water with honey and lemon early in the morning is good for health. Some also believe that it might help in weight loss as well. If you are one of those people who are skeptical of most things, here are 10 reasons why drinking warm water with lemon and honey is great for your health.

Helps improve digestion: Lemon, honey and warm water combined help give your digestion an instant boost. Apart from the fact that the components of lemon stimulate your liver to produce more bile, lemon also helps your digestive system by adding to the already present acid and assists it in flushing out unwanted toxins. Honey acts as an antibacterial and beats any infections that might be present in your body. It also helps in the production of intestinal mucus which aids in the flushing out of toxins from the body.
 
Cleanses the stomach improving the functioning of the colon:  In Ayurveda it is believed that we tend to have a buildup of toxins or ‘ama’ in our stomach. This product of undigested food, intestinal cells and dead bacteria often coats the inner lining of our stomach and is thought to lead to diseases. By drinking Lemon and honey in warm water the walls of the intestine – especially the colon – get stimulated; leading to the expulsion of this ama. If understanding Ayurveda is not your thing, allopathy describes it as a cleansing of the colon, which allows it to function much better. Thereby, helping your body absorb nutrients, get rid of toxins and stay hydrated. The build of toxins often lead the feeling of bloating.

Beats constipation : This mixture is a great and almost instant remedy for constipation. It helps stimulate the bowels helping you pass motion. It also aids in the  production of intestinal  mucus, hydrates the colon and infuses water into dried stool. All this put together helps you pass motion easily.

For more information , please refer to this link:http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/why-drinking-water-early-in-the-morning-good-for-health-p214/

Let's get started !


Ingredients :
3 organic lemons
450g of organic honey
1 big or 2 small glass jar

Methods:

~ Disinfect the glass jar with hot boiling water and dry them
~ Wash clean the lemons, I added Heinz distilled white vinegar to soak and wash the   lemons
~ Pat dry the lemons with paper towels and sliced into thin slices
~ Remove the seeds
~ Put the lemon slices alternatively with honey
~ Close the jars securely and keep them in fridge for 3 days
~ Remember to shake the jars once a day
~ Remove the lemon slices after 3 days
~ Take 1 or 2 tablespoon and add water to make your honey lemon drink

Actual video on the steps are below by Orchikeron:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cA4VN_ywfo

Simple Fried mixed rice

I love fried rice as it is so versatile. You can add almost anything you like. This round I am using overnight rice ( 2 cups white rice and 1 cup brown rice ). Or 1 cup white and 1 cup brown rice.


Ingredients:


2 eggs ( mixed well )
1 cup of corns kennels
4 long chicken hotdogs ( Already cooked and slice into small pieces )
Some minced garlic
Shredded kani (4  crab sticks)
Some chopped spring onions ( for garnish)
Some Olive oil
A dash of sea salt
A dash of pepper
A tsp of chicken powder

Methods :

~ Heat up some oil in a wok.
~ Pour in mixed eggs and wait till slightly cooked. Thus use your spatula and give it a stir to break up the eggs into small pieces.
~ Push the eggs to  one side of the wok and  add in minced garlic
~ Stir fry till the garlic is fragrant , then add in the overnight rice.
~ Stir fry and mix all together. Make sure the rice are not sticking together.
~ Add in some sea salt , pepper , chicken powder to taste . If you find the rice too dry, add some more olive oil.
~ Lastly add in the hotdogs , kani and corns and give them a final stir for 2-3 mins
~ Turn off the heat.
~ Garnish with spring onions

The rice should be fragrant and not dry !Remember that the heat should be strong for frying rice so that each rice should be separated and not stick together. As my hotdogs are already cooked, I added at the very last. But if you are using raw hotdogs , please fry them after you pan fried finished the eggs.

Practice makes perfect!

Enjoy!

Seaweeds, Chicken Ham & Cheese flaxseed buns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basis bread dough recipe:

200g bread flour
1 Tablespoon of organic flaxseed meal ( by Bob's red mill)
80g of  organic wholemeal flour ( by origins)
20g light brown sugar
3g salt
4g yeast
37g egg
30g condensed milk
100g milk
50g plain yogurt
28g unsalted butter

Fillings:
Shredded cheese
Chicken honey baked ham
Japanese seaweeds

Methods:

Place all the ingredients into a BM . Knead and proof for 1 hr 30 mins
Remove the dough and divide equally into 55-60 g each
Then shape the dough into smooth and round shape
Rest the dough for 15 mins
Shape into round buns and place a slice of ham on top. Press the middle down only and leave the sides alone. It is like making a crater like shape.
Rest the dough for 45-60 minutes or till the dough doubles in sizes
Top with shredded cheese and seaweeds .
Bake @ 170 degrees for 25 mins / till golden brown ( depending on your oven)
Rest the buns till cold before eating.





One serving of the flaxseed meal contains 2499 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids.

 

Pan fried cod fish top with crispy garlic

 

My family loves fishes. Tonight I have the urge to cook this cod fish fillets that I bought from Song fish. This fish simply melt in your mouth.  The link is below :

http://www.songfish.com.sg/index.php?r=products/delivery&type=fish_fillet&page=2

 I love to shop online and the best part is that they will deliver straight to your doorstep. This dish is best eaten warm and with lots of rice. That is what happen to my kids. This round I ordered cod fish fillets instead of the cubes because the meat stay on firmer when I pan fried them. In the package, there are a total of 4 big pieces at $47 for 1 kg. I am so happy with this purchase as these are enough to last me at least 3 to 4 meals for a family of 5.

 

 

Cod fish fillets

 

Big garlics

 



 

Ingredients :

 

2 pieces of cod fish fillets ( about 500g )

4 Tablespoon of good quality oil ( I like to use rice Bran oil for frying as the food stay crispy )

6 to 7  cloves of large fresh garlic ( Can reduce if your kids do not take garlic)

2 Tablespoon of premium grade soya sauce ( I use Kikkoman )

1 Stalk of spring onions ( shredded to thin pieces )

 

 

Methods:

~ Thaw the fish fillet till soft and pat dry the fish fillet with paper towels

~ Chopped up the garlic into tiny pieces

~ Heat up the wok first and add 2 tablespoon of oil

~ Place the garlic bits and keep stirring around to ensure even browning. Pan fried till golden brown and crispy. This step need patience and  you must control the fire to low or medium flame. The garlic will turn black very fast if you do not watch carefully or your fire is too high.

~ Scoop up the garlic and place in a bowl

~ With the remaining garlic oil in the wok, you can top up the balance 2 tablespoon of fresh oil .

~ Slowly place the fish fillet with skin face down into the heated oil.

~ Cover the wok to prevent oil from splashing. About 5 to 10 min, you can lift the cover and check whether the skin is crispy. If not, continue watching the frying progress till you get your desired browning of the skin.

~ Then slowly turn over and pan fried the meat for about 2-3  mins.

~ Slowly place on the serving plate.

~ Drizzle the soya sauce onto the fish fillets.

~ Deco with your crispy garlic and spring onions.

~ Serve warm with your rice.

 

 

For how to pan fry the fish fillet, you can refer to my friend Cassandra webpage for more  details:

http://loft48.blogspot.sg/2014/05/pan-fried-teriyaki-codfish.html

 

 

 



Chicken Katsu

This is a yummy chicken katsu that I recently cooked for my family with nasi lemak. Chicken Katsu should be crispy n juicy .

Ingredients:

5 chicken thighs
1 tbsp of cajun powder
A dash of sea salt
A table spoon of Jap soya sauce
A dash of black pepper

2 eggs beaten
Some plain flour
Some  breadcrumbs

Methods
~ De boned the chicken thighs and wash clean
~ Marinate with all the seasonings and keep in fridge for a few hours.
~ Coat one thigh at a time with plain flour and shake off excess powder.
~ Coat with egg on both side
~ Coat with breadcrumbs on both sides
~ heat up some oil and shallow fry till the skin are slightly golden brown on  medium heat. We are doing partial cooking only to retain the juices.
~ Do the same for all the chicken thighs.
~ Rest the meats for about 15 to 30 mins. Once u are ready to eat , change a pot of new oil .
~ Turn on high heat n shallow fry the thighs again. ~ This round quickly lift up the chicken once crispy and golden brown.
~ Slice with a sharp knife .
~ serve warm with rice or salads.

Soft dinner rolls

 

Straight Dough Method

Ingredients200 ml Warm water
½ + ¼ tsp Instant dry yeast
300g Plain flour
1tsp Garlic powder
15g Unsalted butter (melted)
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt

Method

~  In the BM, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.

~ Then add in flour and salt.

~ And start the kneading until well combined.

~ Add melted butter.

~ Knead until dough is smooth.

~  Do not over knead!

~  Divide dough into approximately 60g portion (about 8 pieces) and roll in a   ball.

~ Cover with cling wrap and proof for an hour.

~  Roll into long strips and place on a lined baking sheet.

~ Cover the dough and let rest for another 30 minutes.

~  Bake in a preheated oven at 190 -200 °C

~  Bake for 12 -15 minutes or until golden brown.

~ Remove from the oven brush with melted butter.

~ Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving

 

Special note :

 

~ If you do not have a BM, you can use  a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and set aside for 10 minutes. And in another mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture and knead until well combined. Add melted butter. Knead until dough is smooth. Do not over knead!

 

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Special thanks to my friend Catherine Han for sharing with me such an awesome recipe. Love it !!!

 

 

 

 

Golden tofu cubes

Ingredients:

5 pieces of tau kwa / tofu

3oog of fish paste

1 big carrot ( minced into small pieces )

1 stalk of  spring onions ( chopped into small pieces )

Ottogi Korea Breadcrumbs ( for coating)

2 eggs ( beaten)

2 tbsp of oyster sauce

A dash of pepper

A dash of salt

1 tbsp. of corn flour

 

Methods:

Firstly , mash the tau kwa  / tofu .

Add in fish paste, minced carrots , spring onions and the seasonings.

Finally add in the corn flour to ensure that the mixture is sticky and not wet.

Transfer all to a rectangular tray or round tray.

Steam on high flame for 20-30 mins. When it is cooked, it should be firm.

 

The mixture

Finished steaming

 

 

 

Then rest it till cool . Cut into big chunks and store in fridge overnight.

Beat 2 eggs together.

Cut the tofu into small cubes or your desired sizes.

Coat with the eggs then coat with bread crumbs.

Deep fry till golden brown.

Serve warm with your favourite sauce.

Special note :

~ Should you use tofu, you may need to add more corn flour to ensure that it is not too soft after steaming.
~ You can also bake in oven as well, but the taste may not be as tasty as the fried ones.
~ Coat with eggs too and cover with self raising flour. You can brush with little olive oil on top of each cube.
~ baked at 200 degrees till golden brown.

Oven baked version

This dish is inspired by Lena Lai from SHC as she shared her Air fryer version.