Memories in the Cooking

My husband likes squids. According to Raymond Blanc, squids must be cooked in 1 minute or 1 hour, nothing in between. Otherwise, it will taste like rubber bands.  Ingredients: - 500g of squids, cut into rings  - 100g of thai basil leaves  - 1 thumbsize ginger, cut into shreds - 2 tablespoons of sesame oil - 1 tablespoon of sugar - 1  tablespoon of dark soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of huatiao wine  - 2 tablespoons of water - pepper  - 5 cloves of garlic  Procedures:  1) Fry ginger and garlic with sesame oil until fragrant.  2) Add dark soya sauce, water and sugar and fry a little.  3) When boiling, add basil leaves and fry until soft.  4) Add squids and fry for a minute. Add huatiao wine and pepper. Serve.  

This is another low-effort but yummy dish for the beef-loving husband.  Ingredients: - Oxtail, chopped  - 2 tomatoes, cut into chunks  - 1 carrot, diced  - 4-5 stalks of celery, diced  - 3 large potatoes, diced - 1 packet of tomato puree  - 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs  - 2 stock cubes  - sugar, salt  - 1 tablespoon of flour  Procedures: 1) Add tomatoes, celery, carrot, potatoes to slow cooker.  2) Add tomato puree, flour, stock cubes and mixed herbs. Mix well. 3) Add oxtail. Add enough water to almost cover the ingredients. Cook for at least 6 hours.  4) Add salt and sugar to adjust the taste to preference. 

Most of us would have eaten some versions of this dish at home. This is one dish that I cook from "feeling". The tender chicken with crunchy capsicum and cashew nuts give multiple texture to this dish! Ingredients: - 3 deboned chicken thigh meat, cut into bite-size - 3 capsicums (red, yellow and green, cut into bite-size - 1 handful of roasted cashew nuts - 5 cloves of garlic, minced - 2 tablespoons of lao gan ma chili - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce - 1 tablespoons of light soya sauce - 1 tablespoon of sugar - corn flour Procedures: 1) Marinate chicken with cornflour and light soya sauce 2) Add vegetable oil to a wok. Add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add chicken and fry until brown. 3) Add capsicum and fry until cooked. 4) Add oyster sauce, dark soya sauce, sugar and pepper. For spicy version, add lao  gan ma. 5) Add roasted cashew nuts. Mix well. Serve

I cooked this dish while staying in England where herbs such as dill is easy to source and inexpensive. Today, I decided to make this dish to reminisce about the past. Ingredients: - 30g of dill, chopped - 200g of smoked salmon - 2 cups of milk - half a packet of penne - 10 cloves of garlic, minced - 1 stock cube - 2 tablespoons of flour  - pepper and salt  - 200g of mozzarella cheese  Procedures: 1) Cook penne acccording to instructions on the packet. 2) Add garlic and oil to frying pan. Fry until fragrant. Add flour and fry until brown. Add milk, cheese and water to get a thick, cheesy consistency.  4) Add stock cube, pepper and the chopped stems of the dill.  5) Add cooked penne and stir well.  6) Turn off the flame. Add smoked salmon and dill and mix well. Serve.

This is the slow cooker version of my earlier post on Maggi Chicken. This is my husband's childhood dish cooked by his paternal grandparents.  Ingredients: - 1kg of chicken wings  - 6 potatoes, cut into cubes  - 2 large carrots, cut into chunks  - 1 cup of water  - 2 tablespoons of sesame oil - 4 tablespoons of maggi sauce  - pepper - 1 tablespoon of sugar  - 2 tablespoons of huatiao wine  - salt  Procedures:  1) Place chicken wings, potatoes and carrots into a slow-cooker.  2) Add sesame oil, water, maggi sauce, pepper and sugar. Stir well. Cook at high setting for 3 hours.  3) Taste the sauce and adjust it to your preference by adding salt, sugar or more maggi sauce.  4)Add huatiao wine. Cook for another hour. Serve.   

Carrot Cake is my husband's favourite cake. So, this cake always makes its grand appearance during the annual Father's Day! One interesting observation - carrot cake tastes better after sitting in the fridge for 2-3 days. But, in my family, not much of the carrot cake gets to stay in the fridge for that long. Ingredients: (For cake) - 2 3/4 cup of flour - 4 carrots, grated - 1 can of pineapple, drained from syrup, chopped - 50g of raisins - 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder - 2 cups of castered sugar - 2 cups vegetable oil - 100g of walnuts, crushed - 4 eggs - 3 teaspoons of baking powder (For cream cheese frosting) - 250g of cream cheese, soften - 220g of butter, soften - 1 cup of icing sugar - vanilla extract Procedures: 1) Whisk eggs, oil and sugar until thicken. Sieve flour, baking powder and cinnamon powder to the egg mixture and mix well. 2) Add grated carrots and pineapples. Mix well. Top up with raisins and crushed walnuts. 3) Bake the cake at 170

Today, we are celebrating Father's Day! We are making Grilled Lamb Rump for the meat-loving Daddy!    Ingredients: - 2 slices of lamb rump, butterflied  - 1 stock cube  - 2 tablespoons of olive oil  - 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs  - 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar  - 1 tablespoon of honey  Procedures: 1) In a bowl, mix stock cube, olive oil and mixed herbs into a paste.  2) Rub it on the lamb rump.  3) Heat up a griddle pan. Add some olive oil.  4) Grill the lamb rump on both sides for a total of 10 minutes (for well-done). Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.  5) Make a sauce by adding balsamic vinegar to honey. Serve. 

I remember having a bowl of delicious pumpkin rice accompanying a double-boiled soup at a Kopitiam. While the double-boiled soup was nice, it was the pumpkin rice that made an impression. So, I have decided to make it for dinner tonight. Ingredients: - 1/2 pumpkin or butternut squash, diced  - 2 pieces of chicken thigh meat, diced  - 1 handful of dried scrimps, washed  - 2 cups of rice, washed  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil  - pepper  - 4 cloves of garlic, minced  - chopped parsleys  Procedures: 1) Add vegetable oil to frying pan. Fry garlic and dried scrimps until fragrant.  2) Add chicken meat and pumpkin, fry until the chicken meat is brown.  3) Add oyster sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Fry until all ingredients are well-mixed.  4) Add 2 cups of washed rice to the rice cooker. Add 1.5 cup of water. Mix well with the stir-fry ingredients. Cook the rice.  5) Mix in chopped parsleys when the rice is done. 

Dried Beef Hor Fun is one of our favourite zi char dishes. Today, my punny elder boy requested "Mummy, let's cook dried beef hor fun  just for fun !". So, here it is! Ingredients: - 300g of marbled sirloin, sliced and marinated with light soya sauce, garlic and pepper - 400g of Chee Cheong Fun, cut into thick Horfun  - 400g of beansprouts - 200g of spring onions, cut into 1 inch stalks  - 3 clove of garlic, crushed - 1 tablespoon light soya sauce - 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce - 1 tablespoon sesame oil, - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce - 1 tablespoon of sugar - pepper Procedures: 1) Add the beef marinate, 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to hor fun. Mix well. 2) Add oil to pan, add 3 crushed garlic, fry until fragrant. Add hot fun and fry until there is little charred bit for the 'wok fragrant'. Set aside. 3) Add oil to pan. Add sliced beef and cook slightly. Set aside.  4) Add beansprouts, spring onions and fry a little

I think my kitchen is kinda like an all-day breakfast joint. Because, today, we had Egg Benedict for dinner! What a eggcellent way to start the evening! So as not to waste the 5 egg whites, we made a Pavlova too!  Ingredients: - 13 eggs (serving 4 persons)  - 4 portions of toasts/eggs  - 80g of butter - juice from 1/2 lemon - 1 tablespoon of white vinegar - pepper, sea salt Procedures: 1) Separate 5 egg yokes and place them in a heat-proof bowl. Add lemon juice to the egg yokes. Mix well with a whisk. 2) Melt butter in a small pan.  3) Pour the melted butter to the egg yokes bit by bit.  4) Pour the mixture back to the small pot and heat the mixture over very small fire until a thick hollandaise sauce is obtained. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add a little hot water if the sauce is too thick until you achieve a desired consistency.  3) To a pan of boiling water, add some white vinegar. Poach 8 eggs for 3 mins. 4) Assembly the Egg Benedict by placing 2 poached eggs

Lately, we have been scheduling nature walk on Saturday late afternoons. So, in order to have hot dinners awaiting us when we return, I have been using the slow cooker a lot. Tonight, we had Ginseng Herbal Chicken Soup and it was perfect for a cool day.   Ingredients: - 1 whole chicken  - 8 ginseng slices  - 2 tablespoons of wolfberries - 8 red dates - 5 sticks of dang sheng  - 5 slices of chuan xiong  - 5 slices of dang gui - 1 chicken cube  - salt and sugar  Procedures: 1) In a slow cooker, place the washed herbs and chicken.  2) Add water to just cover the chicken. 3) Let it cook at high setting for 3 hours. 4) Season with chicken cube, salt and sugar. Serve.

Dong Po Rou is a centrepiece dish. It looks impressive but is actually very easy to cook. Ingredients: - 1 kg of pork belly, cut into 4 pieces - 100 g of ginger, sliced - 5 stalks of your spring onions - 1 cup of Chinese huatiao wine - 1 cup of light soya sauce - half a cup of dark soya sauce - 3 tablespoons of sugar - 1 tablespoon of corn starch - chinese parsley for garnish  Procedures: 1) In boiling water, blanch the pork belly for 3 minutes. 2) Place sliced ginger and spring onions at the bottom of a slow cooker. 3) Place the pork belly on the ginger. Add light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, Chinese wine and sugar. 4) Add water until it almost covers the meat. 5) Cook in low setting for 5 hours. 6) Set aside the meat in a serving dish. Thicken the sauce using corn starch. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve.