Memories in the Cooking

This char siew pork is so tasty yet so simple to cook. This is one recipe that I have inherited from my husband's nanny. I have added a little red food dye which I think she will disapprove of. But I can't help it as the red colour really makes the char siew pork more pretty. Ingredients: - 500g of pork collar butt meat - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce - 2 tablespoons of sugar - 1/2 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 1/2 tablespoon of dark soya sauce - pepper - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil - red food dye (optional) Procedures: 1) Marinate pork with oyster sauce, sugar, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil overnight. 2) Place pork and marinate in a frying pan. Add half a cup of water. Let the meat simmer until the sauce thickens. 3) Add a little oil on a baking tray. Glaze the meat with the oil and place them in one layer on the baking tray. 4) Bake at 250 degree celsius for 15 mins on each side. There should be some char edges. 5) Slice the por...

My husband always laments that the Swedish Meatballs at Ikea are no longer as delicious as before. So, we decided to take things into our own hands and recreate Swedish Meatballs the way we like it. Ingredients: - 250g minced pork - 250g minced beef - 1 cup of bread crumbs - 1 egg - 1 onion, diced - salt and pepper - 1 can of all-purpose cream - beef stock made from 1 beef cube dissolved in 1 cup of water - 3 Russet potatos Procedures: 1) In a large mixing bowl, mix minced pork, minced beef, bread crumbs, egg, onions, salt and pepper. 2) Shape the meat mixture into the shape and size of table tennis balls. 3) In a pan, add vegetable oil. Pan fry the meat ball until all sides are brown. 4) Add cream and 1 cup of beef stock. 5) Serve with boiled potatos or mashed potatos and lingoberry jam.

The wonderful part about cooking cinnamon roll is that the whole house is filled with the heavenly fragrance of cinnamon. If there is an aroma to describe 'family bliss', I think it would be the smell of freshly baked cinnamon roll. Ingredients (16 large cinnamon rolls/2 large round tins): - 5 cups of flour - 1 and a half cup of warm milk - 1 pack of yeast - 3/4 cup of sugar - 1 teaspoon of salt - 250g of butter, melted - 3 tablespoons of cinnamon powder - icing sugar Procedures: 1) In a mixing bowl, add milk, sugar, 1/3 of the butter, salt and yeast. Let it sit for 1 min. 2) Add 4 cups of flour. Mix well. Let it sit for 1 hour 3) Dust flour on the dough mixture and knead it. Roll out the dough into a rectangular sheet, dusting it at each step. Keep the rectangular sheet as regular as possible. 4) Mix 2/3 of the butter, half a cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon powder. 5) Spread the cinnamon-sugar mix on the rectangular dough sheet. 6) Beginni...

My family thinks that Enoki Pork Rolls resembles cuttlefish. So, they call it the cuttlefish dish. What a good disguise that even my younger son, who detests mushrooms, loves this dish. Ingredients: - 300g of enoki mushrooms - 300g of Shabu Shabu pork - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce - grated ginger - 1 teaspoon of sugar - 1 tablespoon of corn flour Procedures: 1) According to the number of slices of shabu shabu pork, spilt the enoki mushrooms into equal number of bundles. 2) Wrap the enoki mushrooms bundles with shabu shabu pork. 3) In a bowl, mix all the seasoning, corn flour and half a cup of water. 3) Add oil to pan. Fry the enoki pork rolls until all sides are brown. 4) Add the sauces. Cook until thicken. Serve.

My husband says Brinjal Minced Pork is a soul-food and it reminds one of home. I think brinjals are not easy to cook to the desired softness. While brinjals might look soft even before cooking, it is actually a 'stubborn' plant. So, be patient if you like your brinjals really soft. Let it simmer a bit longer in the tangy sauce. Ingredients: - 2 brinjals - 250g of minced pork - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed - grated ginger - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce - 1 tablespoon of fermented bean paste - 2 tablespoons of dark vinegar - 2 teaspoons of sugar Procedures: 1) Cut brinjals into strips 2) Add oil into the pan and fry the brinjal until soft. Remove the brinjals. 3) Add garlic and garlic and fry until fragrant. 4) Add minced pork and fry until brown. 5) Add seasoning and half a cup of water. When it boils, add brinjals and simmer until desired softness. Adjust the taste with salt or sugar to your liking. Serve

Fancy O' Brien at home? Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the answer. You can be creative with the sandwich fillings and customise with your favourite ingredients (i.e. tuna, ham, sausages, sauteed mushrooms). My elder boy says grilled cheese sandwich is his favourite breakfast. Well... he says the same for the other breakfast food such as garlic bread and pancakes too. Ingredients: - 8 slices of wholemeal bread - mozzarella cheese - fillings (sausages/ham/mushrooms/tuna) - butter Procedures: 1) Spread butter on one side of the bread slices (Side A). 2) Place side A down on the griddle pan for 1 minute on small flame. 3) Flip the bread slices over. On side B, place the fillings and mozeralla on half the bread slices (i.e 2 out of 4 slices). Place the other half of bread slices with no filling on top of the bread slices with filling. Serve.

Ultimate 猫山王 Durian Cheesecake is ultimate in many sense of the word! First, it is an expensive cake with 3-4 good quality durian which can easily cost more than $50. Yes, just the durian itself. Second, it is so decadent (aka sinful) with 1 can of condensed milk on top of the cheese, cream and durian. Thirdly, it is indescribly marvelously delicious. In our family, this awesome cake only makes its grand appearance once a year on one a special occasion - Mother's Day. So, let me dedicate this cake to my mother and my husband's nanny. Happy Mother's Day to the two mummies! Ingredients: - 250g of digestive biscuits - 100 g of butter - 500g cream cheese - 500ml of whipping cream - 1 can condensed milk - durian flesh from 3-4 good quality durian (猫山王) - 2 tablespoons of gelatin - dessicated gula melaka coconut Procedures: 1) Crush the digestive biscuits. Melt the butter using microwave. Mix the butter and the digestive biscuits crumbs into texture that resembl...

This is my personal favourite. The preserved citrus peels draw out the natural juice of the cherry tomatos and make it even sweeter. If served at a party, I would find myself eating it throughout the party. Ingredients: - cherry tomatos - preserved orange peel or lemon peel Procedures: 1) Cut preserved orange/lemon peel into thin strips. 2) Make a "t" slit in each cherry tomatos. 3) Insert a strip of orange peel into each of them. Serve.

Kongba Buns is a tasty and easy-to-eat picnic dish. I could tell from my younger son's birthday picnic at Lower Seletar Reservoir that it is a very popular dish too. Ingredients: - 1.5 kg of pork belly - 1 bulb of garlic, crushed - 1 onion, diced - ginger, sliced - 1/2 cup of dark soya sauce - 2 cinnamon sticks - 5 star anise - 2-3 tablespoons of sugar - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil - pepper - coriander - 30 lotus leaf buns Procedures: 1) Cut pork belly into slices 2) Add oil into frying pan. Stir fry onions, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add pork belly slices and fry until brown. 3) Add dark soya sauce, cinnamon sticks, star anise, sugar, sesame oil and 1 cup of water. Mix well and let it simmer for about 1 hour. 4) Add pepper and sesame oil. 5) Steam the lotus leaf buns. 6) Insert the pork belly and coriander into the lotus leaf buns. Serve.

I always thought that Olive Fried Rice is a Thai dish until I found a recipe of it in a Teochew cookbook. If it is really Teochew, then I guess it is closer to my heritage. Anyway, Olive Fried Rice is another hassle-free rice dish for a medium-size party of around 20 people. The olive leaves is so flavourful that no additional seasoning is necessary. Ingredients: - 5 cups of cooked rice - 1 onion, diced - 1 clove of garlic, crushed - 4 eggs - 1-2 kg of prawns - cashew nuts - 1 bottle of olive vegetables - pepper Procedures: 1) Add oil into a frying pan. Make omelette with 4 eggs. 2) Add diced onions, garlic and prawns. Stir fry slightly. 3) Add cooked rice. Mix well. Add olive vegetables. 4) Season with pepper. 5) Serve the olive rice with roasted cashew nuts.

Marmite Chicken Wings, a typical zi char dish. I decided to "mass-produce" it for my younger son's picnic birthday party. To make the mass production more manageable, I oven-baked the chicken wings instead of deep frying it. In another words, this recipe is less messy and healthier. Ingredients: - 2kg of chicken wings - 1 packet of Japanese bread crumbs (panko) - 1 cup of plain flour - 1 teaspoon of baking powder - 2 tablespoons of marmite - 2-3 tablespoons of sugar - 4 eggs, beaten - 1 clove of garlic, crushed - salt, pepper Procedures: 1) Wash chicken wings and pat it dry. 2) Prepare 3 bowls. In the first bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In the second bowl, prepare beaten eggs. In the third bowl, place the bread crumbs. 3) Dip the chicken wings into the 3 bowls, in sequence. Place the chicken wings in a baking rack. 4) Spray vegetable oil on the chicken wings. Bake it in the oven at 180 degree for 30 mins. Turning over at the half-way...

Eugene's story behind the Egg Mayo Sandwich (written by the man himself). When I was young, I was quite deprived of parties - either attending them or being the reason for one. When I was in primary school, the post-exam activities in those days were usually board games that ended off with class parties. In Primary 2, I had my first class party. It was a potluck party and everyone had to contribute a dish. I asked my nanny to make something for me. I specially requested for Egg Mayo Sandwich. To me, that was an act of love, a present specially for me. It was precious. As I wasn't used to parties and potlucks, I was reluctant to share my precious sandwiches with my classmates. In the end, i brought almost all the sandwiches back, minus the pieces I ate myself. So, here is my precious Egg Mayo Sandwich recipe which I share reluctantly... Ingredients: - 8 bread slices, toasted - 4 eggs - 1/2 cup of Japanese mayonnaise - a dash of white pepper powder - a sprinkl...

I admit that I am the kind of mothers who would sneak vegetables into dishes so that my children get more vitamins, minerals and fibre. Broccoli Soup is one way that I do it. My younger son loves broccoli soup even though he is less enthusiastic about broccoli. Somehow, vegetables when blended are not vegetables anymore. Ingredients: - 300g broccoli, chopped - 2-3 Russet potatos, peeled and diced - vegetable stock cube - 1 teaspoon of mixed Italian herbs - pepper - 1 cup of milk/cream - 1 clove of garlic - 1 onion, diced Procedures: 1) Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Add garlic and onion and fry until fragrant. 2) Add potatos and broccoli. Fry until soft. 3) Add boiling water, just enough to cover the ingredients. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. 4) Blend the soup until smooth. 5) Add a cup of milk/cream, vegetable stock cube, herbs and pepper. Serve.

I first had cold angel-hair pasta with my husband at Gunthers' a few years ago. The dish left such an impression on me that I don't remember the other dishes on the degustation menu. Though I cannot claim that this recipe is anything close to that experience, it is still a decent attempt to bring back that fond memory. Ingredients: - 500g angel-hair pasta - 2 tablespoons of truffle oil - 4 tablespoons of Japanese soya sauce - 4 tablespoons of mirin - crispy seaweed - 15g finely chopped clives - 300g fresh prawns - 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese Procedures: 1) Cook the angel-hair pasta in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cool it in ice water. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pasta and chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour. 2) Cook fresh prawns in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cool it in ice water. Chill it in the fridge too. 3) In a mixing bowl, add angel-hair pasta, clives, Japanese soya sauce, mirin, truffle oil and parmesan cheese. Mix well. 4) Serve the...

Actually, the pancake chief of the house is the Husband. He started cooking the English version (thinner, less fluffy) a few years ago when we had the chance to stay in Cambridge for a year. In Cambridge, we even took part in a pancake race which required the contestants to flip a pancake while running towards the finish line. In Singapore, we are more familiar with the American version which is smaller and fluffier. This Banana Pancake recipe is a variation of the American Pancakes. Ingredients: - 1 cup of all-purpose flour - 2 eggs - 1 ripe banana (can include a few more as toppings) - 1 and 1/4 cup of milk - 2 tablespoons of sugar - 1 teaspoon of baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon of salt - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract - vegetable oil - honey/maple syrup - icing sugar Steps: - Sieve flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl - Mash banana. Add eggs, milk, vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Mix well. - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. M...

For this recipe, the chicken wings are poached rather than braised. Poaching makes the chicken wings very smooth and tender. I first tasted this dish at my husband nanny's place. She added rose wine. My version is more humble using shaoxing wine instead. This evening, my husband declared that both versions are equally good. I trust he was being honest judging from the pile of chicken bones on his plate at the end of the meal. Ingredients: - 1kg of chicken mid-wings - 1.5 litre of water - 1/4 cup of dark soya sauce - 1/4 cup of light soya sauce - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil - 1/2 tablespoon of salt - 2 tablespoon of sugar - 1 tablespoon of five spice powder - 2 cinnamon sticks - 3 anistars - 1 clove of garlic, peeled - ginger, thinly sliced - 1/2 cup of shaoxing wine Procedures: 1) Add water, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar, five spice powder, cinnamon sticks, just as, garlic and ginger to a pot. Set it to boil. 2) When boiling, add ch...