Quick Easy Hot Pot

The Chinese in South East Asia, will normally called this "Steamed Boat", maybe in the past we used a special pot that used charcoal to cook all the ingredients.

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Special brooth is used to cook all the wonderful ingredients. Any seafood, vegetables, meat all cook in one big pot of soup. 

Today, gas stove or electric stove is commonly used. 

Whenever I'm lazy, I'll just prepare with knor chicken cubes. Add all the ingredients in & bring it to boil.  Perfect for a cold weather too!!! 

Voilà !! Lunch or Dinner is served! :) 

Honey Combs / Bee Hives Snack

A popular snack usually during the Chinese New Year celebrations. Crispy & a very fragrant snack.

I have always wanted to make this snack but never get around to make them. The mould is more than 10 years old, bought by MeiCheen's mom from Thailand. It was almost gone with all the junks when I was moving. Phew! 

9PM - Interesting I just found out that there are other names for this snack. Lotus blossom from the Thai people & Rose biscuits by others. 

Finally I made some today.

Honey Comb Recipe: 

Ingredients: 

80g sugar 

150g rice flour

50g self raising flour 

250ml coconut milk

2 tbsp sesame seeds 

2 eggs 

Oil for deep frying 

Icing sugar for garnishing - optional 

Preparation steps: 

1. Put all the flour in a big bowl.  Make a well, then add in the eggs. With a wooden/big spoon, slowly mix the ingredients in a circular motion.

2. Add in coconut milk bit by bit as you stir. When you have a smooth batter, add in the sugar & sesame seeds. Mix well.  Remove any lumps. 

3. In a wok / pan , heat up the oil. Heat up the mould, by letting it sit in the hot oil for a while. 

4. Dip the hot mould into the batter mix and then quickly dip the battered mould into the hot oil. After a few seconds, slowly shake it off the mould. Let it bobble in the hot oil until golden brown. Repeat the process until all the batter finished.

5. Drained the oil, and leave them completely cool before storing in airtight containers. 

6. Optional - Sprinkle with some icing sugar before serving. 

Bon appétit !

Chin's notes: 

1. Wash & soak the mould with some tamarind juice before use. It will gives it a nice shine.

2. Don't dip the mould completely into the batter.  Leave about 3 - 5 mm of the top of mould without batter. If dip completely, it may be difficult to shake if off, during the cooking process. 

2. It may be difficult to shake the batter off the mould initially, use a chopstick / tip of knife to remove. After a few application, it will get easier. Took me almost 8 times to get it easier. Phew!!

3. Always stir the batter before you dip the mould in because the sesame seeds may be at the bottom of the batter. 

Heat up the mould before dipping into the batter mixture.

Transfer the mould dip in batter into the hot oil.
Slowly shaking off the batter from the mould.

Braised Pork Belly

We love tender soft braised pork. I used my Tiger Thermal Pot to braise this dish. Cooked them around noon time and they are ready by dinner. I only need to stay at the stove for about 30mins.  Easy to prepare & still piping hot around dinner time. Perfect! 

Braised Pork Belly Recipe : 

Ingredients 

600g pork belly cut into bite sized. With the skin on each piece. 

1 tbsp sesame oil 

4 cloves of garlic - cut half with skin on

2" ginger - cut half with skin on 

10 pieces of lump cane sugar / 1 tbsp sugar to taste

1 tbsp light soy sauce 

3 tbsp dark soy sauce 

2 tbsp ShaoXing cooking wine

1/2 tsp five spice powder

Pepper to taste 

Water

Preparation steps : 

1. Marinate the pork belly with pepper, five spice powder & shaoxing cooking wine & set aside. 

2. Heat up sesame oil in a pot. Sauté the garlic & ginger until they are fragrant. Add in the pork & stir until there is no redness on the meat. 

3. Add in all the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Add water, just enough to cover the meat. 

4. Simmer until the pork belly is soft & tender. Alternatively, in a thermal pot, cook the meat for 25 minutes on high then transfer to the pot capsule. Leave it in the capsule for at least 3 hours. 

5. Served with cooked steamed rice. 

Bon appetite ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. I like to use lump cane sugar. If you like  it sweeter just add a little more sugar. Otherwise reduced the sugar. 

2. Can add a little more soy sauce if you like more salty. I normally won't use salt if I use soy sauce.

Portugal - 21 - 27 Dec 2014

A beautiful country. Beautifully decorated & friendly people.

We stayed in Lisbon & travelled to Cascais & Palácio National da Pena @ Sintra.

It is not difficult to move around we purchased the daily tickets which allows you unlimited trips on the metro, bus & tram for just 6Euro per day. 

Crossy Road Characters Cupcakes

Birthday cupcakes for my son's 11th birthday. He did not asked for MindCrafts & I thought it was a relief but Crossy Road characters were equally challenging.  My 13th year old helped to create some of the very challenging characters. I'm impressed by his imagination & crafting skills. 

We have forget-me-not, crab, tree frog, gift, dark lord, dice, zombie & unihorse. 

Where is the chicken? 

27 Jan 2015 - another cake for the family  to share. 

Minutes Snacks - Sausage rolls

An easy snack in less than 30 minutes. I bought the ready made pastry puffs & some cocktail sausages. 

They are also yummy with smoked salmon slices!!! 

Easy steps to get the snacks served.

1. Cut the pastry & roll up the sausages

2. Glaze with milk & garnish with parley or sesame seeds

3. Bake based on the packaging instructions.
For this brand, I baked at 210 degree C for 15 minutes

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. They are great with smoked salmons too. 

Spicy Seri-Aji marinade with Chicken

Maya my friend knew that I love fried chicken & she packed these spices for me to make my life easier.  Indeed, they did help to lighten the effort to prepare an easy meal. It is so easy & the chicken tasted so yummy. 

Marinated the chicken at least 3 hrs overnight.  Best if I deep fried the chicken but I usually baked them in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 20 minutes or until chicken are fully cooked. 

I added additional chili flakes for the extra flavour.

Sorry I did not managed to capture the after baked version as we were too hungry! :P

Homemade Dumpling Skins

Dumpling skins are not difficult to make, they are just time consuming to make.  I'll usually buy the dumpling skins if they are easily available.  

Homemade Dumpling Skins Recipe : 

1 cup of all purpose flour / plain flour 

Water - enough to form the dough. 

Preparation steps : 

1. Put the flour into a bowl, add water bit by bit until you can form a dough.  Knead a little and add water where necessary until you get a nice soft doughy texture. 

2. Divide the dough into the small ball evenly about 20 - 25 

3. Use the rolling pin to roll out the dough, turn the dough as you roll. Try to get the skin as thin as you can. As you roll, try to get the skin as round as you can.  

Chin's notes:

1. Cover the dough with slightly damp cloth to prevent drying. 

2. Dust with extra flour to prevent sticking. 

3. Checkout other dumplings recipes: 

Meatless dumplings - 饺子（jiaozi)

Jiao zi ( 饺子 ）- Chinese Dumplings

Shape into a ball & use the rolling pin to shape the dough

Keep rotating the dough as you shape and try to get the shape as round as possible

Dust with some flour to prevent sticking

Meatless dumplings - 饺子（jiaozi)

Trying out new dish.  This recipe is ideal for someone who does not eat meat.  Easy to make & cook them boil or pan fried. 

You can make more & freeze them. Eat them whenever. 

Meatless dumplings recipe: 

Makes about 20 - 25 dumplings. 

Ingredients:

20 - 25 dumpling skin

Dumpling fillings :- 

1 small egg

10 stalks of Chinese chives 

10 water chestnuts - finely chopped 

2 tbsp / 5 cloves of garlic - finely chopped

2 tbsp ginger - finely chopped

2 large Chinese dried mushroom - soaked in water until soft & finely chopped

1 tbsp mushroom sauce

1/4 tsp of pepper

Dipping sauce :-

Ginger - sliced thinly & cut thin strips

Black vinegar 

Sesame oil

Spring onions - finely chopped 

Chili - remove the seeds & finely chopped 

Preparation steps : 

1. Mix all the dumpling fillings ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well. 

2. Take a tablespoon full of mixed ingredients & put onto the dumpling skin, seal the edges with some water. Repeat until all the ingredients finished. 

3a. Cooking method - Pan fried : Heat up a pan with some cooking oil, lay all the dumplings neatly on the pan, over medium flame. Cover with a lid for few mins until the bottom of dumplings have nice browning. Add about 3 tbsp of water & quickly cover with the lid for a few more minutes more. Then turn the dumplings to get more browning on the other side of the dumplings or until the meat is fully cooked.

3b. Cooking method - boiling : In a large pot, add water (enough to for all the dumplings), bring to boil. Add some oil into the water, then put in all the dumplings. When the dumplings are fully cooked, they will surface. The oil will prevent the dumpling from sticking together. 

4. Take them out & served with dipping sauce. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes :

1. A video on how to fold the dumplings & prepare dumplings.

http://youtu.be/yabqIuZeuc0

2. If I freeze the dumplings, I'll cook them straight away & not thawing them out because they will stick together & become difficult to manage. 

3. If you cannot find water chestnuts, you  can use celery or any other vegetable of your choice. If the vegetables has a lot of water content, best to blanch & squeeze out as much water as you can before adding other ingredients. 

4. Recipe for dumpling skins : Homemade Dumpling Skins

5. Remove the seeds from the chili to reduce the hotness. 

6. I used frozen water chestnuts but I prefer the fresh ones when they are available. Water chestnuts are also available in the can.

7. Dumplings with meat recipe : Jiao zi ( 饺子 ）- Chinese Dumplings

Pictures of the process in preparing these dumplings. 

Ingredients

Chopped and mixed dumpling filings

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Pan fried dumplings

Boiling method

Sesame oil (left) & Black vinegar (right)

Fried Fish with Bean Paste Sauce

This is one of my favourite childhood dish & it is still my favourite.  In Cantonese it is called "Taow Cheong Yu". And it has to be served on fried black pomfert fish. Simply yum! 

In Penang, this dish is always on the menu in most of the small restaurants / hawker stalls which served cooked dishes or the local Penang cuisine. 

Fried Black Promfret with Bean Paste Sauce & Ginger Recipe

 Ingredients: 

1 fried black pomfret 

Lots of ginger, thinly sliced

3 cloves of garlic, chopped 

2 stalk of spring onions, thinly sliced.

1 - 2 tbsp of oil

1/2 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp bean paste - it is salty

150 ml water

Preparation steps:

1. Mix the bean paste with water, sugar & sesame oil set aside. 

2. Heat up the oil in the wok, then add in the garlic, ginger & fry until fragrant. Add in the bean paste mix & spring onions. Bring to boil.

3. Pour over the fried fish & served hot with steamed rice. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. Bean paste is slight salty, add more water / sugar to reduce the saltiness. But it is the salty taste that made this dish yummy! 

2. Other fishes if you cannot get black pomfert : Sea bream / red snapper / sole / flounder / leather jacket.

3. Here is a link on how to prepare fried fish.

http://fromchinshome.blogspot.fr/2015/01/fried-fish.html?m=1

Interesting findings....

Came across these sites which gives you interesting findings. Do check post regularly for updates! 

Posted on: 18 Jan 2015

http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2013/02/pineapple-tarts-again-part-one.html?m=1

http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2013/02/pineapple-tarts-again-part-two.html?m=1

Fried Fish

All time favourite since young. I love my fish crisp on the outside & tender on the inside.

Saw some frozen black pomfert at Chinatown today. I decided to get 2, because the whole family loves fried fish. 

Fried Fish Recipe

Only 3 ingredients, whole fish is preferred, salt & oil for frying. 

Preparation steps : 

1. Clean the fish & pat dry. 

2. Cut some slits on both sides of the fish.

3. Heat up the oil in the pan until hot.

4. Gently put in the fish into the hot oil. Fry for 5 mins on medium heat. Check if the side in the oil is golden brown. If is nicely brown then flip the fish to the other side & continue to fry for another 5 mins.

5. Dish out & drain the oil from the fish with disposal kitchen towel.

6. Served with dipping sauce made from soy sauce, freshly cut chili & some lemon juice or calamansi lime juice.

Bon appétit !! 

Chin's notes:

1. Need enough oil to cover at least 1/2 of the fish.

2. Create slits on the side of the fish so more crispy bits on the fish after they are fried. 

3. Make sure the oil is hot before putting in the fish. 

4. Try not to flip the fish frequent. To prevent damages to the fish as the skin may stick to the pan during the cooking process.

5. Other recipe that goes well with the fried fish. 

Fried Fish with Bean Paste Sauce

Meringues à la française

French meringues, crunchy & sweet.  I always wonder what can I do with the left over egg whites from pineapple tarts & other bakes which requires only egg yolks. 

French meringues are supposed to be dry & crunchy & not brown. Mine are a bit browned because I baked them on the top rack. 

This is my first attempt & they are so easy to make.  According to my kids & friends they taste so good! Tried one & I cannot stop popping them into my mouth!! Indeed they are very yummy.

French Meringues Recipe :

Ingredients : 

3 egg whites (about 120g) at room temperature

130g sugar 

1 pinch of salt 

Preparation steps :

1. Put the egg whites & salt into a mixing bowl, and whisk at medium speed until you see tiny bubbles forming.

2. Add in all the sugar & turn the speed up to high. Whisk until the egg white is stiff peak. About 4 - 5 mins. The egg whites should be shinny. 

3. Transfer into piping bag & pipe onto the baking tray lined with baking paper. 

4. Bake on the lower rack in preheated oven at 120 deg C for 20 - 25 mins. They should be dry & peel easily from the paper. Turned off & leave them in the oven with door closed for another 30mins. 

5. Remove from oven & leave them to cool completely before storing. 

Voilà !

Chin's notes : 

1. If larger eggs are used, can increase the sugar to 150g.

2. Do not need to portion the sugar, yes all sugar goes into the egg whites & whisk it up! 

3. Eggs at room temperature allows more air to whisk into the whites & they trapped air better.  

4. These are also lovely for cake decoration. Colourings can be added too. The possibilities are unlimited!!! 

Gingery Seafood Soup

Was feeling a bit lazy to cook today & I have my frozen squid thawed. So decided to cook a simple "one dish" with what I have available from my fridge. 

Voilà ! Gingery Seafood Soup, that warms the stomach on a cold winter night. 

Gingery Seafood Soup Recipe 

Serve : 5 

Ingredients : 

100g minced pork or chicken meat, seasoned with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce,  2 tsp corn flour & 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine. 

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

Ginger as much as you like, thinly sliced

300g squids or prawns or both

3 sticks of celery, cut small 

2 tomatoes , cut chunck

Fresh mushrooms / canned mushrooms

2 tbsp oil 

1L water + 1 chicken stock cube

Fish sauce, salt & pepper to taste. 

Preparation steps: 

1. Boil the water & chicken stock cube in a pot. 

2. Meanwhile, in a wok, heat up the oil then fry garlic & ginger together until fragrant. 

3. Add in the meat, fry a little while then add in tomatoes. Fry the tomatoes untill slightly soft. Add in seafood , celery & mushrooms. Fry until well mixed. 

4. Pour the cooked ingredients into the chicken stock, bring to boil & season with fish sauce, salt & pepper to taste. 

5. Serve hot in a bowl. 

Bon appétit !! 

Chin's notes:

1. Add in additional veggetables if you like, eg bok choy, shanghai green or any veggetables which are suitable for soup.

2. Use chicken stock broth if preferred. 

3. A picture of the ingredients used. 

4. Fried ingredients. With nice orangy colour from the tomatoes. 

Pineapple tarts made with Ghee

Playing with shapes!! :) Lessons from paperclay projects does come handy in cooking too.  I tried shaping with salt dough before working on the actual tarts. Salt dough are easier to manage than the actual tart dough. ;)  

Just made some pineapple tarts, recipe adapted from NasiLemak Lover's recipe. Thanks to my friend Jane Lee, who tried & shared her ghee & butter ratio. 

These tarts taste better if they have been aged for a day or 2. I know it is difficult to resist the temptation! Hide some & taste the difference! You'll be surprised!!! 

Pineapples Tarts with Ghee, adapted from NasiLemak Lover's recipe. 

Ingredients: 

250g salted butter 

100g ghee - I used QBB ghee

100g condensed milk 

2 egg yolks 

510g plain flour ( I used 480g plain flour + 30g cornflour). 

600g Pineapple jam - roll into balls. 

Egg wash : 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk  + 1/2 tsp salt. 

Preparation steps: 

1. Cream the above ingredients except the jam in a mixing bowl untill they form a dough.

2. Set aside for 10 mins in the fridge. 

3. Shape the pineapple tarts with the jam. Brush with egg wash. 

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 165 degree C for 20mins or until golden brown. 

5. Remove from oven & leave it completely cool before storing. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. I find that this recipe not suitable for open tarts because the dough is a bit sticky. 

2. When they are just out from the oven, the pastry is very flaky. Leave it to cool completely the pastry texture is better. 

3. Let the pineapple tarts aged at least a day / 2. They taste better when they are aged!

4. Here is the link to NasiLemak Lover's recipe: 

http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.fr/2013/02/my-best-melt-in-mouth-pineapple-tarts.html?m=1

5. Added on 24 Jan 2015 - Wonder what to do with the left over egg whites? 

I made some Meringues à la françaisel

6. Added on 24 Jan 2015 - Recipe to homemade pineapple jam : Pineapple Jam

7. Here is how I shaped the tarts. Need to work very fast on the dough, because the butter from the dough will melt due to the warm hands & it will become very difficult to manage.  

Added 22 April 2015 : other shapes.

Daisy Pineapple Tarts - embossed with fondant cutter

Rosie Pineapple Tarts - shaped with a crimper

Most popular Chinese Soup - ABC soup

Most of us grew up with this homely soup. It is easy to prepare with just a few easily available ingredients. 

ABC Soup Recipe : 

Ingredients : 

4 Chicken thigh / 200g lean pork / 300g pork ribs - cleaned & cut into large pieces. 

2 carrots - cut chuncks

2 large potatoes - cut chucks 

2 brown onions - cut chuncks

1 big tomatoes - cut chuncks 

1 sweet corn (optional) - cut 4 

Salt & pepper to taste. 

2L water

Preparation steps : 

1. Blanch & wash the meat and set aside. 

2. In a large soup pot, bring water to boiling point add in the meat & bring to boil again. 

3. Add in the remaining ingredients.  Bring to boil & smimmer until meat is soft, water reduced & soup thinken. 

4. Season with salt & pepper. 

5. Serve hot.

Bon appétit !

Chin's notes: 

1. Normally takes 2 - 3 hour to brew on medium to low heat on the stove. 

2. Using Thermos pot / magic pot / pressure cooker can reduced the cooking time greatly. Use lesser water, as the water will not evaporate much. 

Fried French Beans with Fish Balls

French beans, is one of our favourite vegetables. We prefer baby French beans. We like them crunchy & not over cooked. I'd always cooked French beans with minced pork or dried shrimps. This is the first time I tried with fish balls.

Fried French Beans with Fish Balls Recipe : 

Ingredients : 

500g French beans, cleaned & cut about 3 inches long. 

1 pkt / 15 fish balls , halved or whole. 

3 cloves of garlic smashed / chopped. 

1 thumb size ginger - thinly sliced / chopped.

1 small carrot - thinly sliced like match sticks size. 

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1 1/2  tbsp oyster sauce 

Salt to taste (optional) 

A dash of sugar (optional) 

2 tbsp cooking oil

Preparation steps : 

1. Heat up the oil in a wok on high heat, add in the garlic & ginger. Fry until fragrant, then add the fish balls, fry until it is slightly brown. 

2. Add in the French beans & carrots. Fry for a few minutes. 

3. Pour in the cooking wine, give a few good stir & cover with a lid for a few minutes (approx. 2 mins). Until the French beans looked brighter green. 

4. Add in the oyster sauce, salt & sugar, give a few good stir until the all the French beans are evenly coated with oyster sauce. 

5. Dish out onto a plate. Serve hot with steamed rice. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. Oyster sauce is a little salty, I will normally not add salt to the cooking. Hence it may be a bit bland to some. Just add a little salt if you prefer a little more seasoning. 

2. Sprinkle with a little sugar brings up the flavour of the vegetables. 

3. I also like to use ginger to cook my vegetables because I think they make the vegetables taste better. 

Baked chicken mid-wings

These are addictive!!! They are very easy to prepare with just a few ingredients. 

Baked Chicken Mid-Wings Recipe:

Ingredients :

20 pieces of chicken mid-wings - cleaned & pat dry. 

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp soya sauce 

1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation Steps:

1. Marinate chicken in the above ingredients for 3 hrs or overnight in the fridge. 

2. Lay them neatly on the baking tray lined with aluminum foil / baking paper. 

3. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree C for 20 minutes or untill fully cooked. 

4. Remove from oven. Serve as finger food or as a dish with steamed rice. 

Bon appétit !

Chin's notes:

1. Ensure chicken is at room temperature before bake. 

2. You can coat the chicken wings with some honey if you prefer them sweet, coat the wings after chicken are cooked, leave them in the oven for just a few mins before you remove them from the oven.

3. I like to pour the left over marinade on the wings before bake. 

4. My favourite oyster sauce. 

5. Cut the chicken in 3 sections. I normally throw away the tail end. But they are yummy if deep fried. 

Cut the wings into 3 sections.