Monday, March 2, 2009 at 12:10 AM
Posted by Vivian in
Seafood
Credit for this recipe goes to Wokkingmum yet again.
I made this the second time today and was a little disappointed with the quality of the mussels. When I first attempted this dish, I had made it with frozen mussels from Australia. This time round I got the mussels from the seafood section and found the quality no where near the Aussie mussels. The latter was bigger in terms of size and more flavourful. A little more pricy but with the added convenience of not needing to remove one side of the shell. Lesson learned!
Ingredients:
- Mussels
- Tomato based pasta sauce
- Mozzarella cheese
Preparation:
- Steam the mussels for 3 minutes to partially cook it first and to remove the liquid. After steaming the mussels, drain them.
- Spoon pasta sauce to cover fill the shell. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle some chopped parsley.
- Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes or till the sauce bubbles out of the cheese and that the cheese has melted.
Number of Servings: Dependent on the number of mussels used and the appetite of diner
(In the event if the mussels are more than partially cooked during the steaming process, bake the mussels at 200 degree Celsius or bake at a higher rack to allow the cheese to melt faster and not over-cook the mussels.)
Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Salad
Finally a recipe that I can claim as mine! It was by pure accident that the dish turned out just right. The recipe was born because my mum-in-law had to clear this pack of Japanese crab stick that had been sitting in the fridge and I pulled whatever that I can find in the fridge to put this together not knowing how it will turn out to be.
The tangy taste makes it a great party dish that goes well with other sinful food that are usually found at gathering. Absolutely refreshing!
Made this the second time today for a lunch gathering.
Ingredients:
- 600 gm chunky Japanese crabstick (kurimi chunk)
- 1 cup Japanese mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup pomelo sacs
- 4 medium-sized lime
- Freshly grounded black pepper
- Butterhead or lettuce
- Japanese cucumber
Preparation:
- Shred the crabstick and set aside
- Cut the cucumber diagonally and set aside
- Squeeze the juice out from the lime
- Stir in the lime juice with the mayonnaise
- Add in the shredded crabstick and mix well
- Ground some black pepper over the mixture and stir well
- Add in pomelo sacs and mix well
- Line the salad bowl with butterhead leaves or lettuce leaves and top with crabstick mixture
- Garnish the side with cucumber
- Serve chilled
Monday, February 9, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Noodles
I couldn't believe it the first time I came across this recipe that this is actually a Thai dish, because there is not a single hint of spices that we often see in Thai cuisine. My guess is that this could be more Thai-Chinese. In any case, the taste isn't too bad... good enough to make me want to attempt it more than once.
Instead of spring onion which is what was called for in the original recipe, I replaced it with spinach just so to introduce more dietary fibre to the dish. And because I wasn't sure if the children will take to the taste, I added in mushrooms. Anything with mushroom is always an incentive to make them want to give it a try.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni
- 300gm chicken meat (sliced)
- 1/2 head onion (sliced)
- 100gm spinach (cut into 1 inch long)
- 10 button mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 tomatoes (sliced)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoon light soya sauce
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon ketchup
Preparation:
- Pre-cook the macaroni. Drain and set aside.
- Heat oil in wok on medium heat. Add sliced onion and fry until fragrant.
- Stir-fry the chicken and season with oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sugar until the chicken is cooked.
- Add in mushroom and mix.
- Make room for eggs in the middle of the wok, scramble with spatula and spread the egg in a thin layer.
- When the egg sets, turn to the other side and mix well with chicken.
- Add in spinach and tomatoes and stir-fry quickly.
- Add in macaroni and mix thoroughly.
Number of Servings: 4
Sunday, February 1, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Japanese,
Mushroom,
Rice
I was very excited when I first chanced upon www.justhungry.com. It was the answer to my thirst for Japanese recipes. The author of the site is a Japanese and I believe that the recipes are very authentic.
Here's a recipe picked up from justhungry.com. I had reduced the proportion of dashi to rice, as opposed to what was stated in the original recipe because the rice was way too mushy.
Ingredients:
- 320ml of Japanese rice
- 200ml dashi stock
- 300gm of mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster mushroom or Shimeji)
- 2 tablespoon of mirin
- 2 tablespoon of light soya sauce
- 1 fried bean curd (aburaage) (optional)
Preparation:
- Wash the rice until water runs clear and drain
- Slice the mushrooms or shred with hands
- Cut aburaage into small pieces
- Marinate mushrooms and aburaage with light soya sauce and mirin for at least an hour
- Put rice in a rice cooker, add dashi and mushroom mixture
- Cook the rice as per normal
Number of Servings: 4
Chicken can be added as a variation to this recipe
at 3:42 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Chicken,
Japanese,
Noodles
A recipe that was spun-off from the beef version...
Ingredients:
- 300 gm soba (pre-cooked)
- 4 chicken thigh (sliced)
- 100 gm beansprout (tail and head removed)
- Teriyaki sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic (diced)
- 2 tablespoon of corn flour
Preparation:
- Marinate the chicken with 2 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce and corn flour for at least 1 hour
- Heat oil in wok and add in garlic
- Stir-fry the chicken until cooked with juices running out
- Add in the soba and 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce and mix evenly
- Stir in the beansprout
- Top with some Japanese seaweed before serving (optional)
Number of Servings: 4
at 3:14 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Beef,
Japanese,
Noodles
This noodle dish originated from a famous Australia food magazine - Superfood Ideas, but this recipe is somewhat far from the original. I made a few tweaks to the recipe because I find the original a little too dry to my liking.
The most challenging part is to get the beef cooked to the right texture and it took me a few attempts before I got it right.
Ingredients:
- 300 gm soba (pre-cooked)
- 300 to 400 gm lean beef (sliced)
- 100 gm beansprout (tail and head removed)
- Teriyaki sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic (diced)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
- Marinate the beef with 3 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce for at least 1 hour
- Heat oil in wok and add in garlic
- Using high heat, quickly stir-fry beef until 80% done and set aside
- Add 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce to the same wok and bring it to boil
- Add soba to the boiling teriyaki sauce and mix evenly
- Stir in the beansprout and let it cook
- Put the beef back into the wok and stir-fry a little ensuring that it doesn't overcook
- Quickly grind some black pepper over the noodles and mix evenly
- Top with some Japanese seaweed before serving (optional)
Number of Servings: 4
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 11:33 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Chinese,
Noodles,
Pork
This is one dish that seems to have a wide variance in the ingredients that goes into the sauce. Being an amatuer, I have chosen to stick to the most basic recipe. I personally think that it is good enough for a quick-fix. The only 2 changes I have made to the original recipe are - added in some dried mushrooms and as well as some corn-starch to thicken the sauce so that it won't be too runny.
My Mum-in-Law recently made this with hoisin sauce because she ran out of Peking Dip Sauce. The sauce was yummy!! I shall attempt that one of these days.
Ingredients:
- 4 teaspoon garlic/shallots (chopped)
- ½ cucumber (shredded)
- 500g minced pork
- 4 dried mushroom (soaked overnight and diced)
- 4 tablespoon Peking Dip Sauce (甜面酱)
- 2 teaspoon light soya sauce
- 2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
- 400g flat white noodles (either Shanghai noodles or La-Mien)
- 80ml water
- 3 teaspoon corn flour
Preparation:
- Cook the noodles, drain and leave aside.
- Remove core and seeds from the cucumber. Cut into thin strips.
- Mix the corn flour with 80ml of water
- Heat wok, add the oil.
- Add garlic/shallots and stir fry until slightly brown.
- Add the minced pork and stir fry till the pork is cooked.
- Add in the mushroom when the minced pork is 90% done.
- Add Peking Dip Sauce, light and dark soya sauce.
- Add in corn-starch and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Serve meat sauce over noodles
Number of Servings: 4
Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 3:12 PM
Posted by Vivian in
Italian,
Mushroom,
Pasta
This is one of the dishes that I attempted when I first started trying my hands on cooking. The recipe came from Wokking Mum (http://wokkingmum.blogspot.com/) and I have to admit that it is indeed idiot-proof - minimal skills required and the dish will never taste horrible. Most importantly everyone in the family loves it.
I can’t quite remember how many times I have cooked this but it will always show up in the menu if I am feeling lazy, tired and or when I don’t have much time to waste in the kitchen for whatever reason. The unfortunate part is that this dish must be consumed within the same day and do not keep well… or else the cream sauce will turn into a pool of oil slick whether you warm it up using the microwave oven or over the stove.
To make the meal a little more "rounded", I will usually add in some shredded ham. Loads of freshly grounded black pepper gives this pasta dish that added kick!
Ingredients:
- 2 palm-sized portobello mushroom, diced
- 8 brown cap button mushroom, sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 200ml whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive Oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pasta for two, pre-cooked
Preparation:
- Heat wok and add olive oil or butter.
- Add garlic and saute .
- Add portobello mushroom and saute till well-cooked.
- Add button mushroom and saute well.
- Add in the cream and bring to a simmer.
- Add half of the Parmesan cheese, cooked pasta, salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer till sauce thickens.
- Dish and top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
Number of Servings: 2
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