Memories in the Cooking

I first tasted this Taiwanese dish in 2007 at 猫空 and instantly fell in love with it. The symphony of the 3 cups (sesame oil, dark soya sauce and Chinese cooking wine) created the magic to make me feel at home even though I was many miles away. So, I decided to recreate the dish when I came home. Initially, I literally just cooked chicken in the 3 sauces, without regard for proportions or sequence. The product? A salty and oily chicken dish without any hint of wine. After a few years of improving, I managed to adjust the dish according to the preference of my family.  Ingredients: 1) 10 chicken wings cut into bite-size pieces 2) 1-2 cloves of Garlic (peel the skin) 3) 1 thumb-size Ginger sliced very thinly (I use peeler for the paper-thin ginger slices) 4) Sesame oil, Dark Soya Sauce, Shao Xing Wine and Water in proportion of 1:1:2:4. I use half cup, half-cup, 1 cup and 2 cups.   5) 1 tablespoon of sugar 6) Parsley finely-chopped  Procedures: ...

What happen when you fry one crunchy vegetables with another crunchy vegetables? You will get a super yummy plate of crunchy vegetables! Ingredients: - 500g of beanspouts - 1kg of celery, sliced  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - white pepper - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  Procedures: 1) Add garlic into fry pan with vegetable oil. Fry until fragrant.  2) Add celery and beanspouts. Flash fry until cooked but still crunchy.  3) Add oyster sauce and pepper. Mix well and serve. 

I used to only know one way to cook Saba Fish - Grilled Saba Fish with Onions. So, today, I just tried to improvise a new recipe with whatever I can find in the fridge. And guess what, I found some lemons today! Ingredients: - 4 halves of Saba Fish  - 4 tablespoons of corn flour  - juice of 2 lemons  - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - 1 bulb of garlic, minced  - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  Procedures: 1) Coat Saba Fish with corn flour. Pan-fry it until it is crispy. Set aside on a serving dish.  2) In a saucepan, stir-fry minced garlic until fragrant. 3) Add lemon juice,sugar  and light soya sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Drizzle the sauce on the fish. Serve. 

As far as I could remember, this dish had always be on the menu when we ate at por por's (my husband late grandmother) home. According to my husband, por por cooked this dish every Sunday when the extended family gathered. So, this is definitely considered a 'heirloom dish' and it is critical that it tastes authentic (aka just like por por's). Judging from how clean the serving plate was after the meal, I guess I must had done a decent job this evening. Ingredients: - 300g-500g of beef steak (ribeye) - 3-5 tomatos, cut into wedges - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed - corn flour - light soya sauce, pepper - spring onions, chopped - 4-5 tablespoons of tomato ketchup - 2 tablespoons of sugar Procedures: 1) Marinate the beef steak with light soya sauce and garlic overnight. Slice the beef the next day.  2) Heat oil in frying pan. Stir fry beef slices until just brown. Set aside. 3) Stir fry garlic until soft. Add tomato wedges and fry until soft. Add tomato ke...

My boys love to eat lemons. They are always found eating slices of lemons that are used as garnish for dishes or desserts. This March holiday, they requested for home-made lemon sorbet. So, here is a 2-ingredients lemon sorbet. Ingredients: - 4 large lemons - 1 can of condensed milk Procedures: 1) Squeeze the juice of the 4 lemons. 2) Add an equal volume of water to the lemon juice. 3) Add condensed milk. Mix well. 4) Scoop the mixture to ice-cream moulds. Let it freeze for about 4 hours. Enjoy!

Cucumber is another vegetables that tastes nice and crunchy even when cooked. Ingredients: - 2 large cucumber, remove core, sliced - 3-4 eggs, beaten - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  - few stalks of parsley, chopped  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - pepper  Procedures: 1) Stir-fry garlic until fragrant. 2) Add beaten eggs and fry it into omelette.  3) Add cucumber slices. Fry and mix well with the omelette.  4) Add one tablespoon of oyster sauce and some pepper.  5) Add chopped parsley. Mix well. Serve. 

First, I must confess that this recipe uses premix. However, I have added a special ingredient, a little pandan paste, as the way the family likes it. Ingredients: - 1 kg of chicken mid-wings  - 1 packet of Dancing Chef green curry paste  - 1 large brinjal, cut into bite-size  - 10 ladyfingers, cut into bite-size  - 1 onion, sliced  - 1 tablespoon of pandan paste - 1 tablespoon of sugar  - 1 chicken cube  - 1 packet of coconut milk  - 20 lime leaves, shredded  Procedures: 1) Stir-fry onions with vegetable oil until soft and fragrant.  2) Add chicken wings and fry until brown.  3) Add green curry paste and 1 cup of water.  4) Add brinjal, ladyfingers and lime leaves. Stir well.  5) Add boiling water to cover the ingredients. Simmer until the vegetables are soft.  6) Add coconut milk, pandan paste, chicken cube and sugar. Stir well. Serve.  * Can cook this dish using the slo...

I know some people think that ice-berg lettuce is more of a salad vegetable. However, I really love to eat ice-berg lettuce cooked. The crunchiness remains even after cooking. Yummy. Ingredients: - 1 head of ice-berg lettuce - 3 cloves of garlic, minced - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce - fried shallots - pepper Procedures: 1) In a frying pan, stir-fry garlic until fragrant. 2) Add ice-berg lettuce and fry for about 5 minutes. 3) Season with oyster sauce and pepper. 4) Plate the vegetables. Top up with fried shallots.

The roasted pork belly is always a crowd-pleaser. Guests always can't wait to try the crispy pork crackling once it is out of the oven. Hence, this dish has become an unofficial starter which guests can enjoy while waiting for the other dishes to be cooked. What is best, this dish is not tedious or difficult at all. The oven does most of the work! Ingredients: - 1.8kg of pork belly - one packet of course salt - 1 tablespoon of five spice powder Procedures: 1) Wash the pork belly. Dry it with kitchen towel. 2) Add five spice powder to season the meat side (no need to season the skin) 3) Wrap the pork belly with aluminium foil. Leave the skin uncovered. Puncture the skin many times with a sharp knife or skewer. Leave the pork belly in the fridge with the skin uncovered for a few hours or overnight. 4) Put a layer (1 inch) of coarse salt on the pork skin. 5) Bake it at 180 degree for 1 hour. 6) Remove the salt crust. Bake for another 20 minutes at 240 degree (need t...