Stir-Fried French Beans with Egg (蛋抄四季豆)

Posted by Vivian in Egg, Vegetable

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妹妹爱吃的蛋抄四季豆。
妈妈的家常菜。
也是和我童年紧紧挂钩的一道“家”肴。

十岁的我就已在妈妈的厨房打转。

洗菜，切肉。。。葱，蒜，油，米的日子是幼年的回忆。

既是只是厨房里的小角， 没有做大厨的份，也算得上是一种学习经验。

经过了岁月的磨练，换来了讯速熟练的刀法。

细细长长 的“乌龟豆”不在需要恼人的耐心。

“咚”“咚”“咚” 锋利的刀子敲打着砧版的节奏， 钩起了那份记忆。

简单不起眼的一道菜却能带来许多的回味。

 

 

Ingredients:

• 200gm French beans (ends removed and thinly sliced diagonally)
• 1 egg (beaten and seasoned slightly with light soy sauce)
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 150 ml of water
• Salt and light soy sauce for seasoning

Preparation:

• Heat wok with some oil and add in garlic.
• Stir-fry French beans in wok and add in water when the beans are half-cooked.
• Season with some salt and stir to mix well.
• Let the beans continue to simmer in the water.
• Once the beans are cooked to the desired tenderness, pour in the egg and stir to combine.
• Turn off the heat when the egg sets and serve with rice.

Number of Servings: 3 to 4

Stir Fried Chicken Fillet with Hoisin Sauce‏

Posted by Vivian in Chicken

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I am certain that I am not just the only person in this whole wide world that is guilty of having no self-restrain when it comes to buying and collecting cookbooks, but do nothing with it after lugging the book home. Plus with connectivity to the cyberworld, there is no lack of resources when searching for “the recipe” and thus compounding to the problem further.

Of course once it while, the cookbooks do get their chance to take a breather outside of the bookcase and serve their purpose. Here’s one recipe that was adapted from Kylie Kwong. It is a fuss free recipe yet not compromising on the flavor, and ingredients are always readily available in a typical Chinese kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 600 gm chicken fillet (or pork fillet as per the original recipe), alternatively chicken thigh de-boned with skin removed (sliced)
• 4 to 5 dried shitake mushroom (pre-soaked and sliced to 1 cm thick)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons malt vinegar
• 2 tablespoons shao hsing wine
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Some spring onion for garnishing (diced or sliced diagonally)

Preparation:

• Marinade meat for at least 30 minutes with all ingredients except spring onion and reserving some garlic to be used later.
• Heat wok with 2 tablespoons of oil and stir-fry marinated meat until just cooked.
• Add in another tablespoon of light soy sauce if desired and give it a quick stir to mix well.
• Garnish with spring onion and serve with rice.

Number of Servings: 3 to 4

Chicken and Mushroom Baked Rice

Posted by Vivian in Chicken, Mushroom, Rice

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Recipe adapted from NoobCook.

Ingredients: 

• 4 chicken thigh (skin removed and cut into cubes)
• 1 can of button mushrooms (diced) 
• 3 to 4 florets of broccoli (cut into smaller florets)
• 2 cups of short grain / Japanese rice (based on measuring cup for rice cooker)
• 3 to 5 cloves of garlic (skin removed)
• Chicken stock
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 can of Campbell cream of mushroom soup
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Butter
• 1 tablespoon cooking Sake
• Parsley flakes

Preparation:

• Wash rice till water runs clear and pour rice into rice cooker.
• Add chicken stock till slightly below water level as indicated on rice cooker for 2 cups of rice.
• Melt butter in pan and par-cook chicken with mushroom.  Season with salt, black pepper, and Sake. Give a quick stir and turn off the heat, ensuring that chicken remains partially cooked. 
• Transfer chicken and mushroom into rice cooker and mix well with rice. Top with garlic and set the rice to cook.
• In the meantime, boil broccoli over a pot of boiling water and season with some salt. Remove broccoli and drain off excess water. Set aside for later use.
• Once the rice is cooked, remove garlic.
• Add in broccoli to rice and stir to combine.
• Scoop rice into baking dish, spread the top evenly with cream of mushroom soup, followed by mozzarella cheese.
• Sprinkle with parsley flakes.
• Bake in oven at 200 degree Celsius on top rack until the top turns golden brown.

Number of Servings: 4

Burger... Dressing It

Posted by Vivian in Beef, Chicken, Potatoes

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“Burger” - synonym of “fast food” is what we usually grab when in a rush or when in need of a quick fix. But not when burgers and fries are served at home. I was dubbed as “Burger Queen” by the kids some time ago and I quietly believe it is because this is the only “burger outlet” that serves up enough fries in one go to satisfy their craving for shoestring fries. The burger is really only secondary to them.

 

Nonetheless, I try to jazz up the burger in whatever possible way I can because I just cannot face the fact that I am serving the family an unhealthy meal and one without much thought being put in. Since there is nothing much I can do about the calories, salt and fats level, I try to at least put more effort into the other aspect. Over a period of time, there is now a set way I go about making the burger a little different and not just one with a patty in between a bun.

 

While the children felt that the burgers and fries are good enough for a restaurant standard, I wonder which paying customer will have the patience to wait 2 hours for the food to be served no matter how good it is.

 

 

Beef burger:

• Onions – Cut onion cross-sectional (about 1 cm thick) and separate into individual rings. Reserve the inner rings for making mushroom sauce as these tend to be smaller. Melt a knob of salted butter in a non-stick pan and brown both sides of the sliced onions.
• Mushroom sauce – Dice up reserved onions and 2 to 3 Swiss Brown mushrooms. Melt a knob of salted butter in a pan, stir-fry onions till translucent and add in mushrooms. When cooked, stir in 1 leveled tablespoon of plain flour. Lastly pour in 150 ml of chicken stock and let simmer till the sauce thickens.
• Beef patty – Mix salt, black pepper and grounded thyme in a small bowl. Sprinkle over both sides of beef patty before grilling.

(The beef burger is usually topped with mushroom sauce, onion rings (if desired), sliced cheese and a squirt of ketchup before sinking in the teeth.)

 

Breaded Chicken burger:

• Mayonnaise sauce – Remove skin and seeds from cucumber, and finely dice about one third of the cucumber. Remainder of the cucumber can be cut into 1-inch sticks and served as a side. Mix real mayonnaise and Japanese mayonnaise (in the ratio of 1:1) with cucumber. Japanese mayonnaise tend to have a smoother consistency but slightly sweeter. Mixing both types of mayonnaise together yields a better flavoured and smoother paste. 1 to 2 teaspoon of lime or lemon juice can be added for an extra tangy kick.

(Mayonnaise sauce pairs well with breaded chicken patty.)

 

Burger Bun:

• To up the flavor intensity, halve burger bun and spread with garlic and herb spread. Lightly toast the bun in oven.

 

Fries:

• In addition to sprinkling salt to fries, toss with a generous amount of Japanese powdered seaweed before serving.

Pizza Muffin

Posted by Vivian in Breakfast, Snacks

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Original recipe from Donna Hay. Portions reduced to make 6 muffins.

 

Ingredients:

• 1½ cup self-raising floor (sifted)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 100 gm grated cheddar cheese
• 75 gm ham or sausage (diced)
• 75 gm pineapple (diced)
• Parsley flakes
• 80 ml cooking oil
• 1 leveled tablespoon of tomato paste
• 2 medium-sized eggs
• 125 ml milk

 

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 180 degree-Celsius.
• Reserving some cheese for later use, mix flour, baking powder, balance cheese, ham and pineapple in a bowl.
• Whisk oil, tomato paste, egg and milk in a separate bowl.
• Add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix well to combine.
• Spoon mixture into 6 X ½ cup-capacity muffin tins and sprinkle with remaining cheese and parsley flakes.
• Bake for 30 minutes.

 

Number of Servings: 6

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Posted by Vivian in Mushroom, Soup

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When it comes to a penchant for accepting any food samples that supermarket promoters hand out, nobody in the family can beat Elaina to it. She takes anything and everything that comes her way. There was once she questioned why I had turned down trying the pasta sample and my explanation that I had no intention to buy that brand after a bad experience of opening up a bag of pasta filled with weevils wasn’t good enough. She retorted that trying doesn’t equate to buying.

A couple of weeks ago, she was offered a small sampling of mushroom soup. She claimed that it was nice and bugged me to make it for her after the promoter handed me the recipe. I admit that it sounded odd initially to add Philly spreadable to soup since I really only use it on toast and sliced bread. I wasn’t so sure about the taste just looking at the recipe. But she was right, the soup did turn out pretty good. In fact better than the version I tried years ago which was diluted and lacking in flavor despite using proper cooking cream.

Feedback I got from the first attempt were a little varied. The adults agreed that it can be a little more creamier, though the consistency is still acceptable as it is. Elaina thought that the consistency is good for her, pretty good for a first try but prefers the promoter’s cooking. What a politically correct answer! I suspect it was because the mushrooms were diced a little too small to her liking whereas the promoter simply sliced it as indicated on the original recipe, and I switched out the brown capped mushrooms to Portobello for a better flavor (or so I think). So much for wanting to achieve the wild mushroom soup texture as opposed to that of an instant soup. For the next try I will need to experiment a little by reducing the stock from 3 cups to 2 or 2½ for a slightly thicker consistency (since it really is a bit too much anyway if soup is served as an entrée) and leave mushroom a little more chunky. Oh yes… and not forgetting that we need croutons next time to bring the soup to another whole new level!

 

Ingredients:

• 500 gm Portobello mushrooms (can be mixed with Swiss Brown mushroom or other varieties) 
• 1 onion
• 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ teaspoon of grounded nutmeg
• 1½ tablespoon of plain flour
• 1 tub of 250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreadable (soften)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or butter)

Preparation:

• Dice up onion and mushrooms using a knife (or alternatively with a food processor or food chopper to speed up the work). 
• Heat up oil in a pot and add in onion. Cook till the onion turns translucent.
• Throw in mushrooms and allow to cook for 10 minutes or when juices start to run.
• Add in plain flour and mix well.
• Pour in stock and nutmeg, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and leave it to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add in cream cheese (by the spoons rather in one big blob for easy stir through) and stir well making sure that the cream cheese dissolves completely.
• Serve with bread or croutons if desired.

Number of Servings: 4

Cereal-Coated Crispy Chicken Bite‏ (麦片炸鸡）

Posted by Vivian in Chicken

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I have always been quite a coward when it comes to formulating a new recipe. It is usually safer to ride on someone else’s success and follow a tried and tested recipe, with a few small tweaks here and there. Chances of disappointment is much lower this way.

After a long long time, I finally found the courage to take a stab in the dark and managed to make this without a set recipe infront of me as guide. This is inspired by something we had at one of the kids’ favourite Japanese restaurant. I couldn’t find the recipe online but suspect the steps are similar to that of tonkatsu except for the coating.

This is a nice variation to the usual savoury tasting deep fried chicken. The instant cereal lends a hint of well-balanced sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs (de-boned and cut into bite-size pieces)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon sesame oil
• Nestum original instant cereal
• Plain flour
• 1 beaten egg

Preparation:

• Marinate chicken with light soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Dredge chicken with flour and egg.
• Coat chicken with instant cereal.
• Fry till golden brown.

Number of Servings: 4

Potato Croquette‏

Posted by Vivian in Potatoes

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Years back whenever I asked my mum (some other experienced cook) for a recipe, she would rattle on with the list of seasonings required without specifying the amount needed. I always end up scratching my head and feeling terribly unsure if I can get the taste right.

Years on, I can finally relate to it. Because after all that mucking around a kitchen, most people don’t measure what goes in, often relying on the smell and colour as a gauge.

This is one fuzzy instance as this was made from some leftover mashed potatoes and I can’t tell how heavy that was. Hopefully my guess-timation here isn’t too far off.

Ingredients:

• 3 potatoes
• 100 gm salted butter
• 1 carrot (finely diced)
• 1 onion (finely diced)
• Powdered seaweed (optional)
• Panko
• Plain flour
• 1 beaten egg
• Corn kernels can be added as well if desired

Preparation:

• Boil potatoes in a pot of water. Remove from water when potatoes are cooked. Peel and mash with salted butter while the potatoes are still warm.
• Stir-fry onion and carrot with a non-stick pan till cooked.
• Combine carrots, onions and mashed potato, with a few sprinkles of powdered seaweed. Mix well.
• Using a tablespoon, scoop a heap of the mixture into palm and mould into preferred shape.
• Coat potato croquette with flour, followed with egg and lastly with panko.
• Fry till golden brown
• Can be served with tonkatsu sauce as a dip.

Number of Servings: 4

Korean Marinated Beef - Bulgogi (불고기)

Posted by Vivian in Beef, Korean

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Partly inspired by the mouthwatering bulgogi we had in Seoul and partly because I had to feed Matthias with something since he is not a fan of Japchae unlike Elaina, I daringly took up the challenge to recreate the dish at home.

It was no mean feat having to grill the pieces one by one.   The first attempt was a flop.  Due to the lack of time and in order make sure the kids get to school in time and fed with lunch, I ended up "stir-frying" the meat.  It didn't work very well unfortunately (but not quite unexpected).  By the third try, I was adamant to follow the recipe as closely as possible especially since I have a Korean pear sitting in the fridge.  I wanted to test it myself if the pear can tenderise the beef as claimed.  It didn't turn out too badly.  But I admit I am more inclined to say that the method used for Chinese stir-fried beef wins hand down in this aspect.  Although to a certain extend, its not the same cooking method so it really isn't a fair comparison.


Ingredients:

• 300 gm sirloin beef (sliced)
• 3 tablespoons Korean regular soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 onion (sliced)
• 1 spring onion (diced)
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seed
• Pinch of black pepper
• 50 gm pureed pear
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• Sliced shitake mushroom and/or julienned carrots (optional)

Preparation:

• Mix all ingredients and leave beef to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Grill beef using griddle or pan over high heat.
• Sprinkle over with some sesame seed (optional).
• Serve over rice and with lettuce as a wrap.

Most recipes did not call for the meat to be grilled in individual pieces.  I did so in this attempt since I have time and I wanted to get the done-ness right.  The vegetables (onions in this case) was stir-fried after that and added to the beef.

Number of Servings: 4

Korean Stir-Fried Glass Noodles - Jap Chae (잡채)

Posted by Vivian in Korean, Noodles

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Undoubtedly one of Elaina’s favourite Korean dish! We searched high and low for Jap Chae when we were in Seoul recently but it was nowhere to be found. Either because we were looking at the wrong places or it is something that people typically prepare at home, and not readily available when dining out (which would be rather strange).

To help her get over her disappointment, I promised that I will attempt to make this when we return home and did in fact make good that promise except that the recipe which I had relied on was a flop in my opinion. Elaina enjoyed it nonetheless. Goes to show how desperate she was. Then on, I studied a few recipes and tried to pin the different steps together which I think should work and yield an acceptable result.

Despite the variance in all the recipes, the only bit that was notably consistent was the call for the ingredients to be stir-fried separately and finally mixed together in a bowl as that was touted to be the authentic way of making Jap Chae. However in the interest of time, certain ingredients (for instance the onion with the carrots and the beef with the mushrooms) can be cooked together. To the untrained tongue of mine, I really could not tell the difference in taste between the two methods.

The one thing I did learn was the different types of soy sauce the Koreans use in their cooking.  I did some extensive reading on this topic and it was insightful.  The variations within each culture and each being different from the other culture was simply mind boggling.  I recently decided to bite the bullet and bought a bottle of the Korean regular soy sauce (to add on to my already exhaustive list of condiments sitting in my kitchen) for my next attempt.

Ingredients:

• 150 gram potato noodles
• 1 onion (cut into thin wedges)
• 1 carrot (julienned)
• 2 to 3 shitake mushroom and/or wood-ear mushrooms (julienned)
• 100 gram beef sirloin (julienned) or can be replaced with chicken
• 50 gram spinach (cut into 1 inch length)
• 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic

Seasoning for beef and mushrooms:

• 1.5 tablespoons of regular Korean soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of chopped spring onion
• A pinch of black pepper

Seasoning for noodle:

• 3 tablespoons of regular Korean soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons oil

Preparation:

• Season beef and mushrooms and set aside.  Can be seasoned separately if beef and mushrooms will be stir-fried separately.
• Blanch spinach in boiling water over high heat for 1 minute.  Remove and rinse under cold water.  Squeeze dry and season with a pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic.
• Boil potato noodles in boiling water for around 6 minutes or until cooked.  Remove and rinse under cold water.  Drain dry and snip the noodles a few times with a scissors to shorten the length for easier frying and consumption.
• Sauté carrots and onions with a bit of oil and season with some salt and black pepper.  Remove from pan when carrots are fully cooked and set aside in a bowl.  Carrots and onions can be stir fried separately.
• Sauté mushrooms and beef with some oil until the beef is cooked.  Remove from pan and into the same bowl with the carrots and onions.  Similarly, mushrooms and beef and be stir-fried separately.
• Combine the noodles, mushrooms, beef, carrots, onions and spinach.  Pour the seasoning sauce for noodles in and mix well.
• Return all ingredients back into the pan and sauté on medium heat for 3 min or until warm. Stir frequently to prevent noodles from sticking to bottom.   I find that using the chopsticks in one hand and a spatula in another helps to flip the ingredients around a lot faster.
• Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the noodles before serving if desired.