Memories in the Cooking

My husband disapproves of processed food. This fish fingers are made from fresh Seabass fillets. I used Chinese marinates for this recipe.  Ingredients: - 2 Seabass fillets (about 250g each), cut into strips - 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce  - 1 teaspoon of huatiao wine  - pepper  - 1 beaten egg - breadcrumbs  Procedures: 1) Marinate the fish strips with light soya sauce, oyster sauce, huatiao wine and pepper overnight.  2) Coat each strip with beaten eggs followed by breadcrumbs.  3) Cook the fish strips in 2 batches. Place them in an air-fryer. Spray vegetable oil on them. Air-fry them at 180 degree celsius for 15 minutes (turn over at halftime). 

The first time I tried this dish is at my sister's place. I immediately liked the refreshing taste from the lemon and fresh basil. This dish is so simple to prepare but so yummy.  Ingredients: - 3 large lemons, extract the juice and grate the zest  - 125g of grated parmesan cheese  - 100g of fresh basil  - 250g of spaghetti - a handful of rocket vegetable  - olive oil  - 1 teaspoon of sea salt  - 1 teaspoon of black pepper  Procedures: 1) Cook the spaghetti according to the package instruction.  2) To the drained spaghetti, stir in lemon juice and zest, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, some basil. 3) Place them on a serving plate and top up with more fresh basil and rocket leaves. 

This is a super refreshing salad which you can taste the natural flavours. It tastes like a dessert due to the sweet watermelon. What a way to sneak in desserts in between courses.  Ingredients: - watermelon, cut into cubes  - 150g Feta cheese, crumbled - mint leaves  - spinach leaves and rocket leaves, mixed  - sticky balsamic vinegar  Procedures: 1) Place the spinach leaves and rocket leaves in a large salad plate/bowl.  2) Add a layer of watermelon. 3) Add another layer of Feta cheese  4) Add mint leaves  5) Drizzle with sticky balsamic vinegar. 

I often do not know what to do with the leftover crushed peanuts after cooking the store-bought Tang Yuan. This is one good use for it - peanut dipping sauce for steamboat. Ingredients: - 2 packets of crushed peanuts (about 100g)  - 2 tablespoons of peanut oil  - 2 teaspoons of sugar  - juice from 5 limes  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - salt  Procedures: 1) Place crushed peanuts, peanut oil, sugar, lime juice and oyster sauce in a blender. Blend it until smooth.  2) Add water to get the consistency you desire. 3) Add salt to taste. 

Today's is the 12th day of Chinese New Year. Let's have a Fish-shaped Osmanthus Jelly to remember it will always be 年年有余 with God because He gives us an abundance life.  Ingredients: - one packet of Konnyaku Jelly  - 1 tablespoon of osmanthus flowers - 250g of rock sugar  - 1000ml of water - 1 tablespoon of wolfberries - 1 can of longan, chopped  Procedures: 1) Add the jelly powder, sugar, water, osmanthus flowers, wolfberries into a pot.  2) Bring it to boil and make sure all sugar and jelly powder dissolved.  3) Pour the jelly liquid into a fish-shaped jelly mould. Let it cool to room temperature and then chill it in a fridge. 

Chinese New Year is here. Waxed Meat Glutinous Rice is one classic CNY dish. Ingredients:  - 3 cups of glutinous rice - 6 large dried mushrooms - 6 Chinese sausages - 1 waxed duck leg - 1 waxed pork belly - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce - 1 tablespoons of oyster sauce - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil - 1 teaspoon of salt - 1 can of Guinness Stout or few tablespoons of Whiskey  Procedures: 1) Place washed glutinous rice in rice cooker. Add 5 cups of water, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and salt. Mix well.  2) Add mushrooms, waxed pork belly, Chinese sausages and waxed duck leg on the rice. Let the rice soak for about 1 hour.  3) Cook the rice and ingredients using the rice-cooker setting.  4) Slice the waxed pork belly, Chinese sausages, mushrooms and waxed duck leg. Arrange the ingredients beautifully on the rice. You can add some baby abalones too. 

I have tried roasted duck a few times. This is another try on the copycat-version of Dian Xiao Er's Dang Gui Roasted Duck.  Ingredients: - 1 whole duck, butterflied  - 15 pieces of Dang Gui, blended into powder  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - 2 tablespoons of honey - 1 tablespoon of white vinegar  - 1 teaspoon of five-spice powder  - 1 teaspoon of white pepper powder  - black tea from 4 teabags  Procedures: 1) In a bowl, add Dang Gui powder, oyster sauce, tea leaves, 1 tablespoon of honey, five-spice powder and white pepper powder. Mix well to form a paste.  2) Coat the duck (flesh side) with the paste. Rub some of the paste under the duck skin too.  3) Lay the duck on a baking tray. Wipe the duck skin dry. Let it fan-dry for 1 hour.  4) Roast it in the oven for 1 hour at 160 degree celsius. Every 30 minutes, brush it with honey and vinegar mixture.  5) To brown the skin, roast it at 210 degree celsius for 10 minutes. Let th...

I love Basque Burnt Cheesecake and I am having it for my birthday this year.  Ingredients: - 450g of cream cheese (2 blocks of cheese) - 130g of caster sugar  - 4 eggs - 20g of flour  - 300g of thicken cream  - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract  - 1 teaspoon of lemon juice  Procedures: - Line baking tin with 2 layers of baking papers.  - Using electric whisk to beat the cream cheese with caster sugar until smooth. Add eggs and beat until well-combined. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Mix well.  - Separately, whisk thicken cream with flour until stiff peaks. - Add cream to cream cheese mixture. Mix well.  - Add mixture to baking tin. Knock the tin to remove any trap air.  - Bake at 240 degree celsius for 30 minutes. 

Recently, my boy and I had Blanco Court Beef Noodles and we loved it. So, we tried making it on our own.  Ingredients: - 500g beef shin, cut into chunks - 500g of beef shabu shabu  - 500g of beef tendon  - ginger, few slices  - chinese cooking wine, half a cup  - 1 tablespoon of whole black pepper  - 3-4 bay leaves  - 1 packet of thick beehoon  - 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce  - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - salt  - cornstarch  - parleys  - crushed peanuts  - fried shallots  Procedures: 1) In a slow cooker, place the beef shin and beef tendon. Add ginger, chinese cooking wine, black pepper and bay leaves. Add water until it just covers the ingredients. Cook for 6-7 hours on high setting.  2) Blanch the thick beehoon in boiling water. Set aside in the serving bowls. 3) Blanch beanspouts in boiling water. Assemble in the serving bowls.  4) Blanch beef shabu sha...

This is an easy side to include in your menu.  Ingredients  - King abalone mushroom - carrots  - sweet corns  - potatoes  - zucchini - 2 tablespoons of salt  Procedures: 1) Cut the vegetable into chucks of similar sizes. Arrange them in a baking tray (see picture above)  2) Drizzle with olive oil. Season with 2 tablespoons of salt and mixed Italian herbs. Mix well.  3) Bake it at 180 degree celsius for 30 minutes. Place all vegetables except the potatoes in a serving plate.  4) Bake the potatoes further at 225 degree celsius for another 10 minutes. Add it go the serving plate.