Memories in the Cooking

This is an coincidental dish (aka anyhow-cook-dish). However, the family likes it so much that they want me to post in the blog so that I will remember to cook again in future. So, here it is - Anyhow Stir-fried Maggi Mee. Ingredients: - 650g of Koka ezy-cook instant noodles - 4 cloves of garlic, minced - 6 eggs - 1 carrot, shredded - 50g of chinese parsley, chopped - 200g of beanspouts - 500g pork collar, sliced - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 1 teaspoon of sugar - 1 teaspoon of sesame oil - pepper Procedures: 1) Pour boiling water over the instant noodles. Let it soak for 2-3 minutes until it turns slightly soft. 2) In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add 6 beaten eggs to make an omelette.  Cut into thin slices and set it aside. 3) Stir-fry minced garlic until fragrant. Add carrot shreds, pork collar and fry for 5 minutes. 4) Add instant noodles and mix well. 5) Add oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sugar...

As scallop is an expensive ingredient, this dish is often served on special occasions such as wedding or Chinese New Year. With some scallops leftover from the Chinese New Year steamboat, I decided to make this dish while it is still February with some lingering CNY ambience. Ingredients: - 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets - 500g of scallops - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of sugar  - pepper  - 1 handful of wolfberries  Procedures:  1) Blench broccoli in boiling water. Arrange it on a serving plate.  2) Blench scallops in boiling water. Arrange them in the centre of the serving plate.  3) In a frying pan, add 2 cups of boiling water. Add oyster sauce, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, sugar, pepper and wolfberries.  4) When the sauce boils and thickens, drizzle it on the broccoli and scallops. Serve. 

I was feeling a bit under the weather and felt like eating porridge. What dish is simple to make and goes well with porridge? Ginger Spring Onion Fish. I only took 15 minutes to prepare it. The heat from the ginger made me feel a bit better after eating it. Ingredients: - 4 pieces of red snapper fillet, cut into desired size - spring onions, cut into 3cm length - ginger, cut into thin slices - plain flour - baking powder - oyster sauce - white pepper powder - shaoxing wine - sesame oil Procedures: 1) Mix 3 tablespoons of plain flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Coat the red snapper pieces. 2) Fry the red snapper pieces until brown. Set aside. 3) Add sesame oil in pan and fry ginger slices until fragrant. 4) Add 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, half a cup of water and white pepper. The sauce should be thick (if not thickens it with corn starch). 5) Add fried fish pieces and spring onions. Stir fry. 6) Add a dash of shaoxing wine. Serve. Another version to...

Every first day of Chinese New Year, we will have Nian Gao for breakfast. The kids will prepare coffee and tea for us (the parents) and they will then greet us with Chinese oranges. Hopefully, these traditions will form part of their childhood memories. Ingredients (5 slices): - stored-bought nian gao, cut into thin slices  - spring roll skin  - white sesame seeds  Procedures: 1) Lay thin slices of nian gao between 2 sheets of spring roll skin.  2) Pan-fry the nian gao with spring roll skin until the skin is crispy and the nian gao is soft.  3) Sprinkle white sesame seeds on the nian gao pancakes. Serve.

My husband loves Bak Kwa but hates to queue for Bak Kwa during the Chinese New Year season. Solution? We decided to make our own Bak Kwa this year. Ingredients (for 12 pieces of Bak Kwa, 3 oven trays); - 500g of minced pork - 250g of pork belly, minced - 1 cup of sugar - 3 tablespoons of fish sauce - 1 tablespoons of light soya sauce - 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder - 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder - 1 teaspoon of white pepper powder - 4 tablespoons of huatiao wine - 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce - honey Procedures: 1) Place minced meat in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, fish sauce, light soya sauce, cinnamon powder, five spice powder, white pepper powder, huatiao wine and dark soya sauce. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour. 2) Line the baking tray with baking paper. Place 1/3 of the minced meat on the baking paper. Lay another sheet of baking powder on the minced meat. Use a rolling pin to spread the minced meat thinly. 3) Bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 mi...